As always, “Five & Three” brings you my favorite things in comics this week. Every week I pick my five favorite covers and three favorite panels to create “Five & Three”. I like to talk about why I picked the covers and panels and welcome hecklers and trend setters alike.
I’m with the rest of the Big Shiny Robot writer’s crew at the second annual Salt Lake City Comic Convention. Because of the hectic schedule, this week we’re going to blaze through the list of my top picks and favorite things in comics this week. Fasten your seat belt and let’s get going.
First up in covers this week is a special variant made especially for the Salt Lake City Comic Con. The variant is for “Death of Wolverine” and is by Greg Horn. It’s not my favorite of the variants but it’s cool because I’m a Utah local and our con got a variant special from Marvel Comics.
Next up is another Marvel book with a great cover. This time it comes in the form of “Hawkeye vs. Deadpool” #0 by James Harren. I don’t think Deadpool is taking the fight as seriously as Hawkeye is but I’m happier for it.
What I like about this trippy number from Valiant for the first issue of “The Death-Defying Dr. Mirage” is the composition. The design, with the art by Roberto De La Torre, makes for a really tight cover.
While the 3D covers from DC Comics this week are amazing, you’ll have to get the full effect in person. I’m glad for “Justice League” #33 because those 3D covers are great and DC had to get some mad props for their covers this week. Ivan Reis makes this Justice league cover, one to fight over.
My favorite cover for this week is a shameless plug. The 3rd issue of an Independent comic book I write for released yesterday for the start of the Salt Lake City Convention. “The Salt City Strangers” cover is by Chris Hoffman, Josh Oakes, and Emmanuel Ordaz with words by me and my friends Josh Butterfield, Jeremy Gates, and Chris Hoffman. I’m also happy I got to do some inks but you’ll have to get a copy of the book to check out the inside. I’m too humble to shamelessly plug my comic book more than once in this article.
Speaking of the Con, how about something from Steve Lieber – who is a guest at the convention – to start us out on panels this week? If you’re at the Salt Lake convention or any convention, I hope your cosplay experiences don’t go like the panel below.
I’m a fan of Magic and stories about magic. This new book from Boom! Studios is a great read with a fun setup for the remainder of the mini-series. I suggest you give it a look if you’re into Magic, comic books, and good storytelling. The artist, Mariano Navarro nails some great narration by Caleb Monroe in a 6 step process to magic. Here are a few of the steps by the storytellers of “Cloaks” #1.
With so many great moments to pick from in the few books I read I decided to pick one of the most outstanding from this week’s “The Punisher” issue #10 by writer Nathan Edmondson and artist Mitch Gerads. If you’re a long time reader of this article you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of Gerads. My reasoning is his attention to detail, his ability to show action like it is and not how it can be in a summer blockbuster, and for the quiet moments of excellence like the one below. Gerads shows an old man being brutally beaten without having to show anything but the shadows. These panels made me breathless.
That’s all for this week. If you disagree with a pick, let me know in the comments or on Twitter @MarkAvo or on Instagram @TheMarkAvo. If you think I should’ve picked something else or if you have a pick in mind for next week, give me a shout out and let me know. If you’d like to check out more “Five and Three” comic book moments start with “Five and Three” from last week. Until next week, keep calm and Salt Lake Comic Con!