Best Artist of 2013: ESAD RIBIC

Jason Aaron writing Thor: God of Thunder probably would have been enough, but my God, the glorious, beautiful, epic art work of Esad Ribic. Panels that look like famous paintings, covers that look just as bad-ass as they do enthralling. The artwork on this book was simply put, legendary.

Best Issue of 2013: AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE #1

I suppose you could be sick of zombies by now...but when a zombie book/film/show is done right, it can be insanely creepy and totally entertaining. This issue was both. The reason it was creepy and unsettling in a sense is because Archie and Jughead and Betty and Veronica and the crew from Riverdale are as innocent and carefree as can be. "Let's fuck up their world!" is not really something anyone has probably ever said (unless you're, like, evil). When a zombie outbreak occurs in their world it's not just a gimmick, it's something fresh and new. Writer Roberto Aguire-Sacasa (a play write and Glee writer) does a terrific job at creating a realistic way that a zombie outbreak would happen in this world (how many zombie movies or TV shows or comic books give a reason for the outbreak? NONE!). And the way he writes all of the characters makes it feel like a typical, gee-shucks Archie book except there's a sadistic undercurrent that bubbles up towards the end. The art, by Francesco Francavilla, is super-spooky and perfectly atmospheric. It's such a cool concept that it's almost a shock that it turned out as great as anyone thought it could've-should've-would've been.

Short Reviews 12-11-13

THE SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN #6: First off, I love that all the new Marvel books have their issues numbered like this: 006 instead of #6. Like this fucking book is going to be in the triple-digits someday. With that said, I wouldn't mind. This is a lot of fun. It's a comedy/caper book about bumbling thieves. Not all the jokes work of course, but enough do. Writer Nick Spencer is at least coherent here (unlike Morning Glories) and quite funny. The plot doesn't really matter, but this issue involves a stolen painting of Dr. Doom's real face. Light, easy on the eyes (Steve Lieber pencilled it), and a quality read. **1/2 (out of ****)

DEAD BODY ROAD #1: Writer Justin Jordan's follow-up to his Luther Strode epic is a book that should, seriously, just be re-titled Cliches. A guy's wife is murdered so he sets out, shotgun in hand, to avenge. I suppose #2 and #3 could reveal all sorts of cool, ingenious plot devices that I didn't expect...but this first issue is really debilitating. -No Stars-

UNCANNY #5: One of the year's best books. And the thing is, it's full of cliches and it's super simple but it works. We've got the down on his luck con man with a supernatural power, a shady organization, a military base in South America, car chases. Andy Diggle, who lasted all of one issue this year on Action Comics, is a terrific writer when doing this type of crime/action drama. The art is mediocre but so far it's a hell of a ride. ***1/2

BATMAN #26: This is, without question, the best mainstream book out and the best Batman book since Grant Morrison's run on the flagship title. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo have been knocking it out of the park. Every month this is one of the few comics I really look forward to and can't wait to dive into. And it's been a fucking origin story most of the year! Granted, an awesome one that's showed us the birth of The Joker, The Riddler, and Batman. And the glorious colors by FCO Plascencia. This issue focuses on Dr. Death. It's another great issue, even with the lousy cover. ***1/2

CHEW #38: Yeah, this probably should've been a 12 issue series. It's still good but that buzz is gone. Even the over-the-top jokes that were kinda cool early on just feel stale and bad now. The plot? One of the men that know what started the avian flu outbreak is being housed in an underground bunker in a prison. Mason Savoy, the big bad, finds him and bites him and then escapes from said prison and...yeah, this book is fucking bonkers. The art is still crisp, cartoony, amusing. It just feels like it's treading water a bit. **1/2

INVINCIBLE #107: A Robert Kirkman double feature this week. The cover on this book is outstanding. Invincible is really one of the best looking books out there. It looks so vibrant. The plot now has Invincible trying to take care of his pregnant girlfriend while deciding to go off and kill one of his nemesis', Angstrom Levy. But there's more! One of his father's alien race people kisses him...and there's a battle with some underground monsters. Plus the letters page is hilarious. Not all of it is stellar but it's mostly win-win. ***

THE WALKING DEAD #118: This book is amidst its best storyline since The Governor arc. I suppose it isn't too much of a surprise since Negan is a crazy leader hell-bent on domination that goes to war with Rick...which was what The Governor was. But I'd rather read an exciting similar story than a dull fresh one. This particular issue is weak, though. The big news? The black dude's tiger dies in battle (yes, there's a tiger in the book). This storyline, "All Out War," is being double-shipped so Charlie Adlard isn't inking his own stuff. Honestly? It looks worse, albeit similar (I probably couldn't tell if I didn't know). And the voice-over doesn't work in this issue (Kirkman playing new tricks). But it's not terrible and the letters are great as usual. **

THE SANDMAN OVERTURE #1

Certainly this is the biggest release in comicdom in quite awhile, no? I was pondering what the last release was that could be thought of as just as big as this and thought of the Watchmen prequels...but those didn't have the original artist or writer...so what else is as big? I suppose DC's "new 52" reboot...but that wasn't just one book. But why even argue or contemplate it; the fact is, Neil Gaiman is back writing Sandman, his most famous creation, which ran 75 issues from 1989 to 1996 (and ran a bit longer through spin-offs not written by Gaiman). Neil Gaiman isn't really mainstream famous, but he's famous to readers and indie-rock listeners and film buffs. I admit that I've only read the first Sandman trade, which collected issues 1 to 8. It was very good, albeit apparently not good enough for me to continue. The story is, basically, about the king of dreams. In this six-issue mini-series, we find out how Sandman got captured in the very first issue. So, yes, it's a prequel. It's also...terrible. The art, by Batwoman artist JH Williams 3rd, is dreamy, interesting, and different. It's good but not as amazing as some of his Batwoman art. The book is hard to put a handle on. What IS going on? It's certainly not compelling but it is confusing. Oh, well...perhaps Gaiman should've learned from the awful Star Wars prequels. Sometimes you just shouldn't go back. *1/2

VELVET #1

A female James Bond...has it been done before? Probably. I just can't think of a book or film that comes to mind. I never saw JJ Abram's Alias TV show...that might have been similar. But here's a new female spy comic book from writer Ed Brubaker and artist Steve Epting. Brubaker, as you know, did a stellar run writing Captain America recently. While the broughaha was that he killed Steve Rogers, what he also did was make it a great book people talked about for the first time in decades. He quit Marvel to focus on his creator-owned book which was probably a good thing since his Winter Soldier book was barely compelling and his heart didn't seem into it. Fatale, his Satanic/monsters/crime mash-up book for Image, has been gang-busters, though, so he definitely is still a terrific writer when he cares. , though, so far is paint-by-numbers stuff. The art by Epting is top-notch and it's intriguing but not all-together great. Velvet is a spy in the 70's who ends up being falsely accused of being a villain and she must go on the run and apparently find out who's double-crossing her. It's a decent first issue but not something that screams originality or something that'd make you dying to get your hands on #2. **

EVENT BOOK WEEK!

This week was strange. I suppose with Labor Day and school starting the big two figured they should start their event books to bring forth a new surge of interest for the last, final quarter. Four event books hit this week. I bought them all (sucker). Three were fun. One was a slog. But they got me excited to actually go to a comic book store this week (I usually read digitally).

FOREVER EVIL #1: David Finch and Geoff Johns. The first big event of the "new 52" (which is three years old this month). This certainly had all of us curious. The other thing they've done is have 52 books this month focusing on a villain in each one instead of having the regular books out. So Superman #23.1 features Bizarro Superman, etc. They all have pretty cool 3-D covers (you don't need glasses...they're called "motion covers" or something). So this is the start of a big month for DC. This book, Forever Evil #1, has a group of villains from another dimension show up and proclaim that they've killed off the Justice League and that evil will reign. The catch? This group is made of an evil Superman that snorts kryptonian, an evil Green Lantern, an evil Flash, and two other foes. So yes...this is the opposite of Marvel's super serious Infinity. This is a lark, a fun, silly romp of sorts. It's certainly entertaining, though more along the lines of that Daredevil: Shadowland mini-series a few years ago. That was stupid, silly, but fun...and everyone hated it. I enjoyed this first issue (even though David Finch's art is half as good as it used to be)...and the mystery of what happened to the Justice League will keep most reading (c'mon...they're obviously held captive on some other earth somewhere). At 7 parts, though, will I still care in five months or whenever the hell it ends? **1/2

INFINITY #2: I've enjoyed Manhattan Projects, writer Jonathan Hickman's bizarre opus, but his Marvel stuff has mostly left me bored and/or confused. I did like a few issues of his Fantastic Four run, but his current Avengers run and now his event mini-series, Infinity, is a garbled heap of space opera junk. I do understand the jist of the tale (anyone who likes this book will tell its detractors that they're not smart enough or don't understand or don't know the whole history to "get it"); Thanos is the villain. But, seriously, who the fuck are the Inhumans, the Builders, the Shi'Ar, the Cull Obsidian, and the Illuminati? I know: they're boring. I've read "smart" and serious books in the past and enjoyed them. Sandman, Watchmen. Those books are great. Infinity is a dull slog. Marvel's dog of the year. 1/2*

X-MEN: BATTLE OF THE ATOM #1 & ALL NEW X-MEN #16: Is it still "all new" if it's at #16 already? Heh.Well these two are parts 1 and 2 of the new X-Men event, "Battle of the Atom." They tricked us by putting out two parts on the same day...so even if you hated part 1 the probability is that you probably bought both parts anyway. Sucker. Brian Bendis wrote both of these. Frank Cho drew the first, Stuart Immonen the second. Immonen has looked sloppy lately whereas Cho is all clean, fat lines that make his books look like a cartoon. The story has a future X-Men team showing up to warn the current X-Men that bringing back the 60's X-Men to present day is bad. So...yeah...the plot features 3 X-Men teams of 3 eras talking. There's some action with Sentinels...but I'm curious to see what the "atom" is or how this storyline will go 10 parts and warrant the "event" moniker. It's so far light and semi-fun. **1/2

BATMAN INCORPORATED #13

The last of the hanging-on, old "52" books is here, and now it's all over. Grant Morrison bows out of Batman, finally, but, c'mon...even Gaiman is doing Sandman again so Morrison and Batman probably aren't over. Morrison famously brought back Damian from the late 80's and then killed him off after making him the new, rough around the edges Robin. Morrison also killed Batman, sort of, and made a lot of us scratch our heads more than once. Morrison's run has been hit or miss...but I will say there have been more hits than misses. What he did bring was a fresh take on Batman. This isn't just bad guy vs. Batman...it's weird, strange, curious along with bad guy vs. Batman. The big bad has been Talia Al Ghoul. She gets shot in the head and apparently killed in this issue...but her body is dug up and there are more Damian's out there growing in glass jars. It's not over! Morrison's Batman run, a little less than ten years, has been one for the ages. This particular issue had some nice, gritty art by Chris Burnham. A solid ending. I miss it already. ***1/2