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.
Last week was without question “Star Wars” week in comics. Even with the release of the latest “Avegners: Age of Ultron” trailer, nothing in comics was louder than 60+ variants to “Star Wars” coming home to Marvel Comics from the well minded hands of Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse did “Star Wars” fans proud but nothing gets books in hands quite like a big two publisher.
With that in mind, the variant to “Star Wars #1” by Alex Maleev for Warp 9 Comics in Clawson, Michigan. Of the several variants I had the pleasure of seeing through my tablet screen, this one of Boba Fett was up there with my favorites. Don’t forget to catch our double-bot review of issue one right over here.
I’ve been absolutely loving the covers to “Grayson” by Mikel Janin. The spiral theme relating to Dick Grayson’s adventures with the DC U’s super-spy organization are a force to be reckoned with.
Last week was nearly an all-red themed week of “Five and Three” and I lamented that there was no Allred cover or panels for the week. Fast forward to now and we get the cover to “Silver Surfer #8” by the Allred’s and I couldn’t be happier.
Tula Lotay is creating some covers to “Supreme: Blue Rose” as eye-catching or more so than the cousin covers of the other five star creators making covers to books in the Image Comics line. Some of the other publishers and indie creators have paid close attention to what Image creators are doing with covers but not everyone is executing quite like Tula is and it shows. If you don’t believe me just go down to your local comic shop and you tell me what pops off the shelf.
Alex Ross never disappoints but I am rarely stunned by his artwork anymore. That’s not to say it isn’t top shelf, only that I’ve come to expect a certain level of excellence and Ross always meets that expectation. That’s why I love his cover to “Astro City #19” so much. The warped angle as the heroine is soaring through a city skyline is cinematic. My head spins just imagining the speed and G-forces that this super-being is experiencing. The dynamism in this cover with the stellar Ross style and execution is my favorite cover this week.
I’ve pointed it out before but if you’re not reading “Wild’s End” from BOOM! Studios, you’re missing out on a wonderfully cheeky alien invasion of the British Country side. The stereotypical characters told through the lense of an animal avatar only help the book to be that much more heartwarming. “Wild’s End” is the comfort food of comic books and I can’t wait for my next helping.
The final chapter of “Jupiter’s Legacy” book one finally released and the good news is that the story isn’t over. The bad news is that I’m still going to be waiting forever to get the next issue of this stellar comic from Mark Millar and Frank Quitely. I’ll patiently wait but only because I know they’ll be just as amazing as this issue was. Quitely’s imagination of these super-powered heroes and villains is nothing short of comic book mastery. If you’re a fan of exciting storytelling you’re doing yourself a disservice by not reading all five issues of book one.
I pickup “Deadpool” every now and again just to make sure I should still be grabbing the next trade and I’m so very glad I got issue #40 with guest appearances by Sarah Silverman, Jason Aaron and Jason Latour. The fun cameo isn’t why I love the book so very much though, it’s the “children’s book” theme and crayon colors by Val Staples. I have a children’s book in the works with this style of colors in mind so I’m totally art-geeking out over this issue.
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. May the Force be with you!