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.
My absolute favorite thing in comics this week was without a doubt the “Guardians of The Galaxy” film. With a rockin’ soundtrack, the movie keeps an incredible action packed pace all the way to the end. Dancing Groot was a wonderful way to end the film and The Guardians themselves are the perfect pick to start us off this week.
Next up is an amazingly haunting cover to the indie comic “Deadtooth” #1. The story by Mark Hong is about werewolves. The content inside is fairly morbid but that’s exactly the tone you’d expect from a properly done horror comic. The art inside and on the cover is by Jeff Hibben. His talents extend in many directions, not just in the traditional comic book format. You can find more of his work on his deviantArt page right here.
The cover to “Caliban” #5 shocked me. I was instantly hooked and new it had to make it into this weeks picks. I’ve always been felt instantly uneasy when I see images of the little grey men. I suppose I blame “Unsolved Mysteries” from the 90’s. In this instance though, the blame falls directly on Facundo Percio. If you see him, let him know for me that his at is unnerving and spectacular.
I loved the first issue of “Mercenary Sea” but quickly decided to collect it in trades. During my time away from the book I’ve quietly watched terrific covers go by. From the sidelines each month I’ve picked others in place of Mathew Reynolds covers but this week I was fixated on the depth and the colors of his “The Mercenary Sea” #6 cover. The blood, the red hair, the sharks and the ocean are brilliantly combined.
Last cover pick of the week goes to J.H. Williams III because he is a rock star. I’ve been waiting for the most recent issue of “The Sandman: Overture” like every other fan: agitated anticipation. Every time this book has come out though, the reward for the patience has been a spectacle for the eyes and mind.
Speaking of waiting, how excited was the comic book world to actually get an issue of Hawkeye in their stores this week? How bummed is the comic world that Fraction announced to the world he was done with the final script to the finale of his Hawkeye story? All I can say for certain is that I’m going to make you wait a bit longer and show my pick of panels from “Hawkeye” #19 last.
How about some fine panels from “Daymen” #4 by Matt Gagnon, Michael Alan Nelson, and Brian Stelfreeze? If you haven’t been following “Daymen” you’re missing out. If you have, how cool was the set of panels showing the canes from all of the House of Virgo’s past Daymen?
Next up is a solemn look at a set of panels from a short story that blew me away. “Adrift” by Jody Houser and Nathan Fox is a little 8 page comic with staying power. The sincerity of the story and the way it dealt with the things left unsaid between those that have died and those that we mourn with was inspiring. Having dealt with a number of deaths of people I cared for in the last calendar year, this story grabbed me and didn’t let me go. The “Vertigo Quarterly: CMYK #2: Magenta” was just as great as the first issue “Cyan”.
Now let’s get to Hawkeye. I’ve been learning ASL (American Sign Language) this past few months with my wife @Brandigirlio. We wanted to better understand the language of our Deaf friend Natasha. An added bonus to the studies was enjoying Matt Fraction, David Aja & Matt Hollingsworth’s “Hawkeye” #19 on a totally different level. The panel below is a young Clint & Barney Barton discussing their father abuse. Here we see the signs that Clint conveys to his brother Barney telling him, “Dad is big, I can’t stop him.” Barney inspires Clint and then in the future, a deafened Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye inspires… well, go read the the issue to find out. For those that have been following “Hawkeye all along, there is a special joke in this issue that has a setup way back in issue 1. I’ve included it for you at the end because bro, good things come to those who wait bro, and patience is a virtue.
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, “I am Groot!”
The first two pages are from “Hawkeye #1” and the pay off is in issue #19, blown up below.