I finally got caught up on all of the great comics I didn’t get a chance to read last week and the publishers dropped this week on me. I’m not complaining though, I just have many comics to choose from. That usually makes things harder when it comes to art, but it also makes it difficult to pick the greatest panels because there is so much to read. This week was big because of the drought week during Christmas next week. Speaking of the Christmas holiday, I had to sneak in some kind of themed cover and that’s where we start this week.
I don’t know about you, but I love Peanuts. I couldn’t get enough of them in elementary school. I’d cleaned out the school library and was working on the public one’s collection when a large collection of Schulz’s classics arrived under the Christmas tree. I don’t read the comic very often anymore, but images like this one make me instantly nostalgic for holidays past.
While we’re on the subject of the holiday, if you’re wondering what to get for that comics fan in your life and you’re worried you’ll get something dull because it’s so late in the shopping season, worry no more. The Deluxe Hard Cover edition of Peter Panzerfaust arrived on the shelves this week. Kurtis J. Wiebe and Tyler Jenkins tale uses characters from Peter Pan and sets them in World War 2. The results are fantastic and can be enjoyed by even the new comer to graphic story telling. This edition is a great price for the first 10 issues of the series at just under $40. On top of the great story and great price, take a look at the cover!
Wonder Woman continues to be one of the best books DC is putting out. In any given month it gives any title in the industry a run for its money, including fellow DC books. Cliff Chiang has set Azzarello’s First Born villain inside of the beautiful heroine’s silhouette. The choice of coloring and the use of negative space is superb.
I picked this cover because my wife said it was funny. IDW’s new kid on the block, Illegitimates, by Taran Killam; Kevin Sharpe; and Jerry Ordway, is about the world’s greatest Super Spy and only hope dying. The good news for the world though, is like his inspiration, the Super Spy of Illegitimates was quite the philanderer. Do the skills of a world class spy pass on through his loins or is the world doomed? The book is funny, irreverent, a bit violent, and all sexy.
Locke & Key is over, at least for the Locke family. Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez bring the story to an emotional close and then include some great moments in the back of the book. I chose this cover out of the variants because Glenn Fabry really caught the horror behind the keyhole. Joe Hill has had to have made his papa proud.
My favorite moments in comics this week were simple but hard to whittle down. First up is Daredevil 34 as Marcos Martin returns on pencils to finish out this part of Waid’s award winning Daredevil story. It all changes with issue 36 and then we get a Marvel Now reboot and an increase in price. I’m not as upset about it as Matt is upset with this helicopter pilot because I know the book’s been worth $3.99 all along.
Image Comics gets two nods this week and the first one is from Secret #4. I’m glad to see Hickman’s story return. I hope that means the talented Ryan Bodenheim is healthy because this story is my favorite one currently available from the mind of Jonathan Hickman. This scene captures what we know so far as of this issue so perfectly. Who can you trust when the receptionist has a shotgun pointed at you under your desk?
We finish out this week with Pretty Deadly #3. The story is poetic, the pencils are sensual and the coloring is rich and soft. That doesn’t hurt the old Western tale; it makes it feel like an authentic Spaghetti Western with a bit of magic thrown in for good measure. In fact, that really sums up the book but doesn’t begin to do it justice. I’m in love with Emma Rios and will follow everything she does from here on into oblivion. Look at that raven blend with the glowing skin of the woman. Rios handles the action in this book as deftly as she does the connecting moments.
Well, that’s all I have for this week. Please do have a Happy Holiday and a Merry Christmas. I’ll be back the day after Boxing day with a list of my favorite books, moments and everything else that happened in comics this year. Expect another 5 and 3 in 2014 because the pickings next week will be slim. If something from Origin II doesn’t make it into the end of the year article though, I’d be very surprised. So, until 2014 kids, thank you for 2013 and the fun ride it’s been bringing you my favorite moments in comics and every week.