The Pick - October 6th

Hooray! A new month! That means titles re-circulate :D

Strangely enough, I don't want to "re-pick" a title that I already recommended and seeing as how I didn't see much this week that I could recommend outside of something that I know most of you don't already read (or don't read...I see how it is), I decided that this was a fine time to start something fresh. There's about six new titles launching this week alone, so I'm making it my business to let you know which you should definitely spend on, and which that don't deserve the trees that were killed to print them.

The Winners:

1. Criminal: The Sinners - Part One

Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips

The award-winning comic is back. The Sinners follows Tracy, a morose hitman for hire, who has a conscience--definitely not a quality that people in his line of work need. After gaining the angry attention of his employer, he's sent out on a mission to discover whose been killing some of the cities worst inhabitants, and whose trying to move in on his boss, Sebastian's, town.

Brubaker did it again. Really. I'm not sure what the man puts in his coffee every morning that gives him the "I-own-the-mutherfucking-comic-book-world" mojo, but he really needs to slip up that secret ingredient. Sharing with the community might help in production of less crap.

This, however, this is far from Crap. From the moment you turn to the first page, something snags you. Maybe it's the impeccably clean panels, or the slightly noir introduction that makes you feel like your watching an old Dick Tracy drama--but with a lot more cussing and gore. Either way, you can't stop reading. You hear the narrator in your head, and when Tracy talks, you feel the words. Brubaker has a way of creating characters that feel as real to you and me as our mother, brother, or best friend. The dialogue is smooth, and darkly funny. He had a sense of humor most people only find in a B-movie black comedy. But that's good thing.

Philips is flawless in his execution. He manages to show emotion on the characters faces with the slightest lines and the faintest shadow. Very few artists can do that and actually make it believable without overdosing the readers with spastic inking and a maze of the fine lines. Philips manages to pull it off as easy as he wipes his ass. Fucker.

This a fantastic continuation of the previous Criminal series'. Definitely have this on your pull list. Otherwise, you really don't deserve be considered a person.

2. Haunt #1

Written by Robert Kirkman
Pencils by Ryan Ottley
Inks by Todd McFarlane
Layouts by Greg Capullo

Haunt tells of the story of a young man, who after being murdered for something he didn't know, gains the ability to "haunt" his brother Daniel's body, thus transforming their merging into a powerful being.

I've always been at an odds with Kirkman. I love The Walking Dead series, but I despise Invincible (and for good reason, I just won't get into it here). I was never sure if I liked him, or hated him. This comic just made that decision for me. Haunt is, at it's barest, a unimaginably fantastic piece of writing. The idea Kirkman put together along with McFarlane is both original and engaging. Add to that Kirkman's ability to tell as story simply through the words his characters speak, and you have a title that is will worth the money, an attribute not many other comics can claim.

Ryan Ottley's pencils, as always, seem a bit too boxy and cartoonish for my liking, but he's changed up his style from the horrendously bubbly art for Invincible enough to go with what this story is: a gritty, hard-to-stomach, bloody walk-through of two men's life. McFarlane does a phenomenal job inking, so much so, his bold flavor is more than evident in the pages...it's in-your-face obvious. together, Ottley and McFarlane make an odd combination that nevertheless works.

For a brand-new title, this is an amazing start, one that has finally tipped my Kirkman scale in his favor.

The Loser:

3. Doctor Voodoo #1

Written by Rick Remender
Art by Jefte Palo

So, starting with a summary might be a bit difficult, since, honestly, I had no-fucking-clue what the hell was even going on!

I'm not sure who Remender is, only that every time I type his name I want to spell "remainder." His writing is flat at best, and the story itself feels rushed, like he wasn't sure he was going to get enough pages. Well, he could have easily solved that by skipping the first five pages altogether. Sure, maybe they had some significant meaning, but if it really had no point in this first issue, then he really should have just held off for a later date.

Not only that but Dr. Doom makes his wide, shiny, well-oiled self known about half-way through. Then proceeds to explain every gosh-darned smart move he makes. Towards the end, he manages to wrap up their fight and make his exit in two measly panels.

Whoa. Wtf?

All in all, this book isn't even worth glancing at. It's a shame that Palo art goes to waste on something as trivial as this title. Marvel is really losing their touch here.There is a chance to make a very strange, normally obscure character stand out and all it does is flop around like a dead fish. A pity really.


That's it for this week's titles.
Remember that losing sleep for your comics is the only reason worth staying up in the first place. After all, you can sleep when your dead.

-TCBC