Gamblor started this thread & has kept it going since the book forum started. So I hope it can stay alive during his temporary absence. Anyway, haven't read a thing yet but I'll give a little thought on each title. I picked up. . .

Suicide Squad #7 - Love the cover. It's a shame more people aren't reading this book. It's one of the all-around most fun reads out there. Medina's art has really grown on me, & the coloring is awesome.

X-force #125 - Wooo Hooo!!! X-Force day! Such a great book .

Sojourn #9 - Damn! Greg Land does amazing covers. Awesome coloring on it. The story still is not doing much for me but the art is brilliant & worth it just for that.

X-treme X-men #11

Taskmaster #11 - This comic is not reinventing the wheel, but it doesn't try to. It's a very entertaining read & I really enjoyed the first issue.

Universe #6 - I know nothing about the Top Cow universe but that doesn't keep me from diggin' this book.

CLA$$WAR #1

New X-men #124 - (Ships next week)The one book I have to take from first looks cause I can't wait. I HAAAATEEE Igory Kordey & he ruins this title.

Trades:

Green Arrow: Quiver - Hardcover - I didn't plan on buying this but the sweet presentatin by D.C. suckered me in. Plus Smith's writing is very friendly to multiple readings so I figured what the hell.

Question Of the Week - So we are only 3 months in to the new year so I figured no would be a good time to still know what you read this year. So the question is what has been the best comic you have read so far this year. The best single issue, not new series or mini-series. Just the best 1 issue you have read all year. My answer:

New X-men #122 - I look for all aroung quality & this was really tough to choolse b/w this & The Authority. This issue just blew me away though. This issue was nothing but a build up, a foreboding of things to come. Quitely's art is perfect for this type of comic, as every panel he creates a sense of tension, as if something major is about to happen at ever turn of the page. The ending was absolutely briliant creating a sense of triuph, irony, humor, & utter dispair all at the same time. Morrison's run on this title has been truly brilliant.

Would have to say Amazing Spider-Man #38 for me. A milestone in the character's life that has been long-awaited, and it's pulled off perfectly. Glad to see we've gotten away from the "Aunt May is a blithering idiot" depiction -- I always figured, this woman raised her nephew single-handedly after a whole series of tragedies, she can't be made of glass. A superb comic book.

Oh, I'll second you on Igor Kordey's art in X-Men ... but not so much that he's a bad artist, because he is pretty good, but his work is SO different from both Quitely and Van Scriver's art. I can handle the difference between Quitely and Van Scriver but Kordey is just SO sketchy and raw -- he would be better suited to a "Daredevil" or "Batman" tale but X-Men, IMHO calls for cleaner artwork and less expressive stuff.

There isn't a single book I read coming out this week.

Actually, I may pick up FUSED. It looks pretty cool. I still might pick up Stan Lee/John Byrne Create Robin, or whatever it's called. I like to read what my columnists work on.

-Brian

Slow week for me. Dork Tower, Liberty Meadows, Green Lantern, and Nightwing.

Also picked up that JLA Wonder Woman Maquette. Very cool.

I cannot really pick ONE issue that has stood out so far this year. I thought that Batman #600 was significant and I enjoyed it. Was it the best thing I've read this year? I would have to think about it.

Well, I'm gone just yet. I'll be hanging around until Friday. I'm glad to see that there's still enough interest to keep this thread going in my absence. Here's what I posted in the thread I sarted. (I wasn't expecting anyone else to pick up where I left off so soon.):

Light week....

The Amazing Spider-Man #39 - How late is this book? Here's a hint. It's one of those ridiculous "'Nuff Said" issues.

Transmetropolitan #54 - I hate to disrespect Glenn Fabry, but I really miss the covers by Geoff Darrow and Darick Robertson.

X-Force #125 - Uh-oh! The spectre of death. That can't be good.

I also picked up the TPB of "The Flash: Blood Will Run". I already have the individual issues, but it's definitely worth the extra money to have this great series in a sturdier format. I'm a bit confused, though, about why this was the first collection of Geoff Johns work on "The Flash", as it does not include his first story arc.



I'm not sure of the issue number offhand, and I'm too lazy to go look it up right now. Just over a month ago, there was an issue of "The Flash" centering on "Captain Cold". The Flash only shows up in one or two panels and has no dialogue. It's all backstory and character development. Just as some consider "The Killing Joke" to be the ultimate Joker story, this may be the ultimate Captain Cold story. The way that Johns has revamped this title and its Rogues Gallery has me stunned, and this is a good issue to show of his talents, as well as those of the underrated Scott Kollins. This was a superb issue and sure to be one of my top picks at the end of the year.



As I said in last week, this will be my final "This Week's Comics" thread. In fact, after tomorrow I will taking an extended leave of absence from the internet. I may be gone only for a few months. I may be gone a year. I'll just have to see how things work out. I'll be sure to check in every once in a while...whenever I have access to a computer for a while. I do hope that these weekly threads will keep going while I'm away.

Take care everyone.

jim

I think the Flash issue Jim referred to is #182 (?). I really enjoyed that issue as well, and I just started the Flash with #181. I also have to agree with Amaz Spider-Man #38, when Aunt May and Peter talk. A great issue.

This week, I picked up Negation, Sojurn, Origin, Transmet, X-Force, and Amaz. The only one I've read so far is Amaz #39 and I really liked it - MJ is back! (well, at least she makes an appearance) Much better than most of the 'Nuff Said books I read.

I also read JLA: Tower of Babel. While the first issue was horrid (not part of the story arc, just a filler issue, I guess, where the JLA shrinks down to fight some cancer or something in a kid) and the back up stories weren't great either, the actual Tower of Babel story arc (4 issues?) was terrific.

Unfortunately, I've actually had to do work at...well, work the past week or so, which cuts down on Internet time

Gah, I'm sorry to have missed Gamblor's last post (for now). We'll try to keep the light on!

What I picked up this week:
Singles:
Crossgen: Sojourn #9
DC: Harely Quinn #18, Suicide Squad #7
Image: Fused #1, Obergeist: The Empty Locket #1, Tomb Raider #20
Insight Studios: Liberty Meadows #25
Marvel: Amazing Spider-Man #39, Blade #1, Cable #103, Origin #5, The Punisher #10, Taskmaster #2, X-Force #125, X-treme X-Men #11
Slave Labor: My Monkey's Name is Jennifer #1
Viz: Animerica Extra v.5 #4, Pulp v.6 #4

Trades:
Viz: Vagabond v.1

Notables:
My Monkey's Name is Jennifer #1: I LOVE this comic! I don't even know how to descibe it...go to:

http://www.slavelabor.com/index2.html

to take a gander at some of the pages. The art and story works really well together, and it's the only comic this year I actually re-read 2-3 times. All I can say is that the preview at the above link sold me on the comic.

Sojourn #9: By god, I hope they turn the first interior page into a print or poster . Greg Land's art is beautiful, although the story seems on the generic fantasy side.

Fused #1: I initially had taken it off my "to get" list but the cover drew me in and the art inside is great. Steve Niles seems to be going somewhere with the story, although this issue is mostly set-up.

Blade #1: Not overly impressed by either the story or the art. Blade seems like a background character: he shows up and kills a bunch of vampires. I'll give the series a try for another 1-2 issues, but I might end up dropping it.

Taskmaster #2: I still can't believe I'm enjoying a limited series about the Taskmaster, but I am. I like UDON's anime-inspired art (and I'll be picking up "Deapool" when they start doing the art there as well). There's alot of action, plus Taskmaster comes off as a very cool character.

Suicide Squad #7: I like this series - both Giffen's "bickering super team" writing and Medina's cartoonish art. Also, as a big fan of Sgt. Rock and Easy Company, I like to see how much of their influence is in the story.


I gotta say it's "My Monkey's Name is Jennifer #1". After reading the preview on-line a month ago, it's the only comic this year that I actually bee-lined to first at the comic store when I found out it was coming out, and the only one I've actually re-read more than twice. It's written in a perspective different from all of the other comics I've read this year, and the story is somewhat bizarre, but interesting enough to make you want to read the next issue.

Edit: Fixing some of the codes

Superheroes this week:

Batman: Evolution

Collects Detective Comics 743-750.

First work of Rucka's I've read outside his excellent Tangled Web issue and I'm underwhelmed. To give Rucka a break, I mostly didn't enjoy this as a result of the ridiculously uninteresting Deezee/OG conflict. Who decided that the characters in the book were going to refer to the disaster as "No Man's Land?" It's like they never heard real people talk. For one thing, "No Man's Land" doesn't even describe an event, it describes a place. It'd be like if we were saying, "ever since Ground Zero, the air quality in Manhattan is suspect." Something just doesn't fit there. Another pet peeve of mine is that Batman shouldn't be confronted with anything blatantly magical. I don't mind if magic is used subtly, but when the dialogue, "it isn't chemical, it's alchemical" is spoken, it's all over for whatever you're reading.

It's rare for me to comment on the art of a book, but I did like what they've done with the coloring here.

Amazing Spider-Man: Coming Home

Collects issues 30-35.

Spider-Man may be my favorite superhero and, based solely on his Rising Stars series, Straczynski is near the top of my list of comic book writers. This book had a lot of nice touches and interesting ideas. Unfortunately, it never quite made the leap to "great moments," and before closing actually began to descend into a mess. The resolution was cliche and some of the final events that get you there made me cringe. I'll pick up the next volume and hope the kinks are worked out.

New X-Men: E is for Extinction

Collects issues 114-117.

The X-Men were my favorite characters when I was, oh, about 12. Since returning to comics, I've sampled some X-Men work here and there and they just haven't grabbed me. This book came very close, which is an accomplishment. I've always felt that X-Men belong in a separate universe from the rest of the Marvel characters and Morrison really makes you feel that way in this volume. I didn't count but there had to have been a "major event" every third page here, I hope Morrison takes his time a little more in the future. Oh, and Wolverine should bring down the frequency of the jokes, he comes off a little too corny. All griping aside, though, this was my favorite of the week.

If you could after you read it, could you post some thoughts? I thought the series took a nose-dive after Ennis/Dillon left, and I stopped with #9, which wasn't that impressive. If the series gets better, lmk

GI Joe number 4 rocked!!!!! I have to say I'm glad I got back into comics now.

But I have one question when did Origin #5 come out? I grabbed the last 2 at my comic store on Friday.

Came out last Wednesday (3-13). I would expect the last one in May at this rate. Then the TPB is scheduled to come out in June.

I barely collect comic books anymore, but some key comics have hooked me into buying them, so here is what I bought last week:

Origin #5: I think a lot of people are disappointed where Origin is now, but I am not one of them. I think people were looking for an action-packed series and are instead reading a period piece that is doing a good job of talking about how Wolverine came to be who he is. One question and this deserves spoiler space:



Green Arrow: Quiver HC: Have yet to read it and have been waiting for this to come out. I have heard good things about this and I have always liked Kevin Smith's work. Hopefully this was a worthy buy.

Right now I am concentrating on collecting TPBs of titles I am interested in (Ultimate Spider-Man and X-Men, Batman, etc.).

Question for who referenced the Flash: Blood Will Run TPB. Is this a good collection of comics? I always loved the new Flash from when it started, but I stopped collecting comics in the mid-90s. I have kept up on Flash in reviews though. Is this the introduction of the new Rogue's Gallery or what? If spoilers are needed, please include. But try not to spoil too much...I just want a general overview...thanks much.

Liquid...I figured it out (spoiler below)...BTW, for people who want to know what the spoiler is about, we are talking Origin #5.

Only had a chance to read 2 comics from this week so far, but they were both really good so here are some thoughts. .

CLA$$WAR #1 - This is a MUST READ book for anyone who is a fan of The Authority or The Ultimates. It's a new comic from com.x who I have never read anything from, but I remember reading about this book in previews which made it sound interesting & once I saw the cover I had to have it. It is much more politcal than Authority or Ultimates & feels almost like what they want to be, but are hampered by the fact that they are published under the 2 big guns Marvel & DC. The dark comspiracy that is at the heart of this book so far is a bit cliched, but given that this is only the first issue I'll excuse that. The art is pretty nice also, Trevor Hairsine is obviously heavily influends by Alan Davis, Stuart Immonen, & Neal Adams, but with a little less detail. Definitely worth checking out.

Taskmaster #2 - I feel bad for anybody that knocks this book or doesn't like it. They have forgoten the heart of what is great about comics. This comic is the ultimate fun comic. It doesn't reinvent the wheel but it completely delivers at looking nice & being entertaining. More than any comic I can think of this issue feels like a Hong Kong action movie. I usually hate this manga wave that has hit american comics but I love the art & coloring in this book & if this is the same team that will be doing Deadpool I will definitely be picking it up. Plus this book makes Taskmaster a really cool character.

Anyone know what the extras are in the Ult. Spider-Man HC which comes out tomorrow??? I looked quite a few places online and didn't turn up any info.

Here's the info from Marvel's site, looks like there is some behind-the-scenes stuff:

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
Cover By Joe Quesada

THE SCOOP: It’s the premiere Ultimate title in hardcover glory — now with tons of behind-the-scenes extras!

THE STORY: The Spider-Man movie is almost here! Hey, retailers: this is the best collection you can hand to new customers that want more Spidey! Hey, readers: this is the greatest version of the Ultimate book that you love! Reprinting ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #1 - #13, now with previously unpublished material that will take you behind the scenes to witness the creation of a phenomenon!

THE FORMAT: 352-page hardcover. Printed on 7 1/4” x 10 7/8” glossy stock paper.

I read that too, but its not very specific. I already own the issues, though I'd consider upgrading if Bendis provided some good supplements (ala Jinx/Torso). However, if its just some sketches and a cover section, then I'll pass

I have a feeling it would be the latter. Problem with HC releases is they are usually in plastic and you can't look at them before buying. So is this basically the first arc and the Learning Curve arc? Maybe I should pick it up.

Its got the first two complete arcs, plus #13 which was prob. one of the best comics I read last year. I believe #14 was the start of the current Doc Ock/Kraven arc.

In case anyone's interested, it looks like the USPM HC includes plot outlines or scripts for the issues, sketches, covers, and what might've been interviews (I didn't look too long). Nothing too fascinating (imo). However, it appeared to be about 30-40 pages of extra stuff.