The Pick - October 20th

After a nice little hiatus, I'm back with the weekly pick. There was a pretty good selection to choose from, which is a nice change from the past two weeks. Some popular titles continued on as well a few premier issues, so all in all, I think it was a pretty good week.

Another upside for this week? I've now officially beat Swine Flu 2009... You know what that means, right? Time to make t-shirts! :D

I'm way too proud of this than is humanly healthy.

Onto the comics.

1. Streets of Gotham #5

Written by Chris Yost
Co-feature written by Marc Andreyko
Art by Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs
Co-feature art by Jeremy Haun
Cover by Dustin Nguyen

With the start of a two part series entitled "Leviathan," guest writer Chris Yost takes the attention away from Batman and  focuses it on The Huntress, who finds herself knee-deep in a losing battle against Kirk Langstrom, a.k.a. Man-Bat. As they tumble through the city, Man-Bat focusing on his next mean, Huntress takes the time to analyze her reasons for protecting Gotham. With an overlapping story focusing on one priests' decent into madness, the story comes together when both Man-Bat and Huntress find themselves at the priests' mercy...

The second-feature of Manhunter continues where the last issue left off, taking a brief detour to tell the story of Jimmy, and how he got into his business. After Kate made her interest in taking down Two-Face known, this issue reveals that he won't take it lying down.

There's a brief preview of Batman/Doc Savage coming in November that, truthfully, baffles me. In one panel Batman is grinning and smoking a cigarette. Now, this isn't our current Batman-reborn; no, no...this is the immortalized Bruce Wayne-Batman. Things get even stranger when, the next page over, Batman is shown having a shoot off with two thugs as he quickly dives for the window--a la Hollywood-style. WTF, Brian Azzarello?? Bruce Wayne-Batman does not grin! Nor does he have a shoot off with thugs! Ever.

I so do not have good expectations for this....

2. Blackest Night Superman #3

Written by James Robinson
Art and cover by Eddy Barrows & Ruy Jos
Variant cover by Shane Davis & Sandra Hope

Now I know I picked the second issue of this last month, but there's nothing that could change my mind from making this decision either. As Superman and Superboy continue to battle, Black Lantern Psycho Pirate continues to share his emotions with the rest of Smallville, watching amused as Superboy attacks Superman, even as the Man of Steel struggles to get through to Connor.

Meanwhile, Ma Kent manages to get the better of Black Lantern Lois with Krypto's help. New Krypton is saved as an order to seal the planet with a counter energy to the black rings. Everything comes together as the mysterious Medusa Mask holds the secret to overcoming the power of the black rings.

Robinson does a fantastic job of telling a story. He manages to keep the action going even while the characters carry on a dialogue between each other. Through out all of this, he also manages to slip hints and reveal secrets without ever seeming too gaudy or too blatant. Barrows' pencils lay out a wonderful foundation for the inkers to finish. Nothing seems overdone, crowded, or distracting; everything points to the focus of the panel and flows effortlessly. That is something that really pulls me into the comic: an example of excellent layout.

As another Blackest Night spin-off draws to a close, we're slipped just a little bit more information about what the Black Lanterns are made of and how to defeat them. While it's still an incredibly slow story line, the summer's event still manages to stay afloat through stories and issues like these. Kudos.

3. Dark Wolverine #79

Written by Marjorie Liu & Daniel Way
Penciled by Stephen Segovia
Cover by Greg Land
Young Guns Variant by Daniel Acuna

The minute I happened upon Daken Akihiro, I was smitten. Who was this smart-mouth, smooth-talking son-on-a-bitch with daddy issues? The amount of mental issues this kid has carried against his upbringing and parental figures is unimaginabley delightful--almost as much as Damian Wayne, but that little darling sits atop my favorites list. And as the little shit becomes a man, he is reminded more and more that things aren't as easy as they come.

He's very painfully reminded of that in this issue, when both Norman and his plan to redeem his reputation backfires with bloody results. Not only is his cover put to the test, but these second rate criminals aren't as stupid as they pretended to be. With Emmy Doolis practically calling the shots, Osborn is going to have to figure a way out of this fast. But, as always, Daken has his own score to settle with Ms. Doolis.

When I realized that the "Liu" in the title stood for "Marjorie Liu," I was flabbergasted. The woman is New York Times best selling romance author. You know, the trashy, smutty, pseudo-pornographic books that only seventy-year-old women in Bridge Clubs read? That kind; and while I freely admit to being a fan of her books, I admit, I didn't really know what to think. But I see her touch in the story and the storyline. With Daniel Way, the pair have managed to make a very compelling story. Even better, they seem to flesh out the characters, giving them the personalities that seems both believable and exciting.

All-in-all, one of the titles I always look forward to now :)

* * * * *

So that's it for this week. Compounded with school, work, and attempting to prepare for Halloween, life has been one big treadmill. Anywho, I wouldn't dream of leaving this website and you guys to the pigeons.

Look for news of a new SPONSOR later this week~! Yay!

-TCBC