The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: July 31 – August 6, 2019

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• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: July 17 – 23, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: July 10 – 16, 2019
• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: July 3 – 9, 2019

I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

Comics I Read Last Week:

The Best Comic I Read Last Week Was Batman: Last Night on Earth #2

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artist:  Greg Capullo

For their swan song with what has become their signature character, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo apparently got together before they embarked on Batman: Last Night on Earth and said: “let’s do whatever we want.”

And they are doing it.

Bizarre, hilarious, over-the-top and brazen, this Black Label title is everything one expects from two daring creators who know what they are doing and why they are doing it. They seem very much to push one another to the limits of their talent and their imaginations and we, the readers, are the beneficiaries of this collaboration.

It is a collaboration the comic book world will deeply miss.

This post-apocalyptic (I think – you never really know what Snyder and Capullo have in mind) story is a clear culmination of the plot points and themes these two have been developing for over 10 years. What a pleasure to see them pull this off.

And what a pleasure to see DICK Grayson, not the ridiculous “Ric” Grayson running around in the Nightwing title…

 

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: October 17 – 23, 2018

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• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: September 19 – 25, 2018

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I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

Comics I Read Last Week:

The best comic I read last week was Justice League #10

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artist: Francis Manapul

Francis Manapul’s art must take him a very, very long time to produce. When he is on top of his game, he is pencilling, inking and coloring his own work and it reaches heights that most artists can only dream of reaching. When he is producing his work a little more quickly, he is still brilliant and one of the best artists in comics. The work in Justice League #10 is not top-of-the-line Manapul, but it does not need to be… it is pretty damned terrific as it is. Any Manapul is better than no Manapul. I love this guy’s work, even when he is not breaking barriers. Only a title like Justice League could get a guy like him as a fill-in artist.

My love of Scott Snyder is well established. What is very striking about this book is that Snyder is taking a step back from the cosmic narrative of The Totality that he has been spinning to draft an Aquaman cross over event that looks like it is going to be terrific – and, hey, how about that!?! – is just in time for the Aquaman movie. This is more “standard” comic book fare, but nothing Snyder does is standard. This chapter gives readers a great start on what promises to be a great event.

Snyder gives great event.

I have loved what’s going on in Justice League and this issue reaches up to the standard of this latest volume. I am looking forward to Drowned Earth!

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: June 20 – 26, 2018

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• The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: May 23 – 29, 2018

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I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

Comics I Read Last Week:

The best comic I read last week was Justice League #2.

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artist: Jorge Jimenez

Close, close, close week. And that’s a good thing. I really only want to read good comics (or bad comics I think are good!). This week, the virtual hold slot is brimming with good comics and it came down to a close race among Batman #49, Man of Steel (why are people hating on this?) #4 and Justice League #2.

Justice League #2 won out because it is simply too wild, too wide screen, too good to ignore.

If you are looking for a comic book that is beautifully drawn, look no further. If you are looking for a comic book with an A-List line up, here’s your title. If you are looking for a comic book that is creative, challenging and compelling, pick up Justice League.

What a remarkable book this is. Scott Snyder deserved the keys to the kingdom and he is already adding elements to the JLA myth that will be around for years to come. His influence and the manner in which he is writing the characters is not unlike Geoff Johns or, perhaps, Grant Morrison. This is a powerful league. This is a powerful book.

And how can one go wrong with the rotating art team of Jimmy Cheung and Jorge Jimenez? Jimenez shines this issue and has deserved a spotlight like this one for a very, very long time.

All cylinders. That is what this book is clicking on. Each and every one of them.

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: May 9 – 14, 2018

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I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

Comics I Read Last Week:

The best comic I read last week was No Justice #1.

 

Writers: Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, James Tynion IV

Artist: Francis Manapul

Spinning out of the events of DC Metal comes No Justice, a weekly mini series that itself will launch a new iteration of Justice League. This is a cosmic, spare-faring, high stakes story that promises to change the DC Universe forever. Those kinds of claims are made frequently in comics, but this book seems to want to deliver and writers Snyder, Williamson and Tynion IV may well be the men to do it.

This is a book that features the genesis of four different Justice League teams facing off against all-powerful, cosmic antagonists. The teams were assembled by none other than Superman villain Brainiac and each is designed for specific and unknown reasons.

Oh, and they contain supervillains as well.

Great stuff!

The art by Manapul is not put to his usual creative brilliance and he seems to be working to someone else’s strictures and script, but any Manapul is good Manapul and the book looks great.

This is the start of something big.

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: September 13 – 19, 2017

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I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

Comics I Read Last Week:

 

The best comic I read last week was DC Metal #2.

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artists: Greg Capullo

DC Metal is simply the most bizarre, most out-there, most fun comic book I have read in a very long time. The superstar team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are putting together a story for the ages – a book that is going to be referenced for years to come. They are also tying up loose plot threads from their previous work… threads that most fans did not even realize were dangling!

I cannot begin to explain all the proceedings here. They are too complex – too crazy – to try to distill for this review. Rather, what I can say is this is a comic book lover’s comic. It is an ode to the 1970s, a time where all kinds of unhinged things could happen in a comic, where dinosaurs and space-women and Challengers of the Unknown existed side-by-side in vibrant four colors.

For a long time – for over a decade – creators have been trying to make comics into something new. Writers and artists of great skill have deconstructed the genre to develop something different, something deep, something important. And I have loved many of those books and embraced many of those experiments.

But, bravo Snyder and Capullo for making a comic that looks like a comic, smells like a comic and reads like a comic.

DC Metal is an awesome ride. It is the kind of ride that, if you do not get on, it will surely run you over.

Get on Metal!

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: October 11 – 18, 2016

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I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

I read 7 comics last week: Wonder Woman #8, Detective Comics #942, Spider-Man: Clone Conspiracy #1, All Star Batman #3, Darth Vader 25, Han Solo #4 and Action Comics #965.

The best comic I read last week was All Star Batman #3.

 

I believe that’s 3-in-a-row for All Star Batman. All three issues of this title have been the best read I’ve had in any week they’ve been published.

That’s not too surprising as my affection for the work of writer Scott Snyder has been chronicled many times in “Best Sequential Art…” blog. I am certainly not alone in my admiration for his work with the character of Batman. He’s been writing him for over four years now and his stories remain both fresh and daring. This arc he’s put together in All Star Batman is a great example of this. The story is shocking and that is not a word I chose lightly. The story here does shock. It shocks in the best way.

Snyder knows the character, has defined the current status of him and continues too play with it in exciting ways.

This story is no different, well, it might be because it is so much better than the last arc he wrote on Batman – the Mr. Bloom arc that just never… bloomed for me.

What he’s doing here is writing the character with confidence.

Almost as much confidence as the legendary John Romita, jr is using the illustrate the book. I am hot-and-cold on Romita. He’s clearly one of the most storied and best illustrators in the business, but I don’t always love his work. I love it here. It may have to do with the solid inks of Danny Miki. These two seem perfectly suited to one another and the character.

All Star Batman is supposed to feature Snyder working with the best-of-the-best and, so far, it has been.

And I didn’t even mention the terrific back up story with art by Declan Shalvey. Shalvey would be great on the main book as well.

What a terrific comic this is. Truly one of the best.

 

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: June 10 – 16, 2015

I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

I read 5 (it was a light week – and I needed one!) comics last week: Batman #41, Detective Comics #41, Batman/Superman  #21, Chrononauts #4 and Gotham Academy #7.

The best comic I read last week was Batman #41.

Yes, Batman again. Yes, Batman was my favorite book – by far – last week. Yes, I’ve selected Batman as my Pick of the Week more often than I have not when it’s been published.

There’s two reasons. Snyder and Capullo. I love what Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo are doing monthly on this book and I cannot think of a more perfect tandem of writer and artist working in comics right now (Mark Waid and Chris Samnee come close, but Snyder and Capullo have been doing it a bit longer). It is clear – and not just from following them both on Twitter – that these two guys love working together. Equally clear is the “together” part. This is a true collaboration, Snyder playing to Capullo’s strengths and Capullo rewarding that effort with terrific work. What they’ve done over 40 issues of Batman is nothing short of remarkable.

They’ve introduced a massive new myth to Gotham in the Court of Owls. They featured a character who may or may not be Bruce Wayne’s brother (I am undecided on if I believe Thomas or not – what a cool place to be in as a reader!). They created a definitive Joker story in Death of the Family. They re-told the most sacrosanct origin in all of comics in long form. Then they told THE definitive Joker story.

And now they’ve made Jim Gordon Batman.

Bravo, gentlemen. I wasn’t sure of this turn (another cool place to be as a reader) but I should have had faith. This feels like a logical and natural outgrowth of the stories you’ve been telling. The Batman armor character design is stunning (we need another series of Capullo action figures now, please.) Jim Gordon’s choice to become this particular version of Batman is consistent with how you’ve drawn the character in your arcs. He’s primed to for the role.

Bottom line? In Batman #41, every choice you made as creators worked for me as a reader.

I don’t think Bruce Wayne is dead, but that’s not the story here. Awaiting his return from the dead (sooner than we might have anticipated, it seems) is not the point. The point is what Snyder and Capullo are doing with a 75-year-old concept. They’re making it new.

That’s a pretty damned cool thing to do. I am hanging on every panel.

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week – February 25 – March 3, 2015

I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

I read 10 comics last week: Batman Eternal #47, All New X-Men #38, Amazing Spider-Man #15, Arkham Manor #5, Daredevil #13, Darth Vader #2, Gotham Academy #5, New Avengers #30, Star Trek #42  and Batman #39.

The best comic I read last week was Batman #39.

 

When comic books are able to actually up the stakes, to make it seem as though the stories they are telling have far-reaching, life-and-death consequences, I take notice. Because of the nature of the periodical medium, it is very difficult for writers to create real tension. The higher the visibility of the title character, the more difficult the challenge.

Take Batman. Readers know that he’s not going anywhere. He’s not going to be killed and, if he is, readers understand the next story arc will feature his inevitable return to life in some form or another. We know when we read “The Last __________ Story” that __________ (whomever’s name fills that blank) will be back. So, because I am well aware that, after the conclusion of this current “Endgame” arc in Batman, the title character will still be around and the Joker, who is is adversary here, will likewise return, I am all the more impressed that I am anxious – the right word on all levels of its definition – for the next issue and for the conclusion of the story.

There’s a reason each issue in this arc has been The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week. Batman has been comic book making at its best. Greg Capullo’s art is flawless. His Joker is downright scary with a crazed glint in his eye that is hard to look at too closely. His supporting cast, notably his Commissioner Gordon and his Dick Grayson (I bet Scott Snyder isn’t too thrilled that the events in Grayson’s comic book life have left him all but unavailable for this story – I know I am not), are distinct and visually perfect. His Batman is hulking and deadly, even as he increasingly faces what he thinks might be his defeat. I’ve got many Greg Capullo inspired action figures for a reason: his art is just incredible.

Let’s just caption this “shut up, and take my money.”

But there are many pretty art teams out there (Capullo is ably assisted by Danny Miki on inks and Dave McCaig on colors). What makes Batman such a great read is the synergy between artist and writer.

Scott Snyder has woven another Batman story for the ages. At the moment of at least two “reveals” this issue I thought “why didn’t I see that coming?” Snyder has laid the ground work for years in Batman for this story and all his work is paying off. Though the “hero has to team up with his greatest foes” plot twist can be a trope in comic books, Snyder pulls it off in this issue not only once but twice. As I mentioned, the stakes feel real here – I have to HAND it to Snyder – and when the writer says in interviews that Batman’s status quo will be irrevocably changed after this story concludes, I believe him.

Batman is the best pure superhero book on the market right now. Snyder isn’t trying to re-invent the genre. He’s succeeding in re-energizing it. Other writers should take note.

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week : February 18 – February 24, 2015

I am a comic book collector and happy to be one. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

I read 10 comics last week: Batman Eternal #46, Avengers World #17, Batgirl #39, Justice League #39, Batman and Robin #39, Batman/Superman #19, Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man #10, The Multiversity: Mastermen #1, Superman/Wonder Woman #16  and Uncanny X-Men #31.

The best comic I read last week was Batgirl #39.

What a fun read this book is. As a former teacher (for 10 years!) at an all-girls high school, I think I know a thing or two about young women and, although Batgirl and her supporting cast are about 5-7 older than the girls I worked with, I can say that they read very, very real to me.

Cameron Stewart and Brendan Fletcher are killing it. They are writing a Barbara Gordon who is endearing and vulnerable but tough and tenacious all at the same time. When she questions herself in this issue, the reader feels it. When she seeks out Dinah for her friendship, the reader wants the two to bury the hatchet. When she is confronted by the reality of her latest adversary, the reader is rooting for her. That’s a lot for comic book writers to inspire in their readers but Fletcher and Stewart deliver the goods issue-after-issue. From Barbara’s move to Burnside to her radically cool costume redesign, this book has been a great read for months. If you’re not on board, get there.

This is the book I would give a non-comic reader to introduce them to the medium. It’s that good.

Much of that credit has to go to Babs Tarr who is drawing something we don’t see enough of in comics: realistic women. Her characters, cartoony and fresh, look as though their analogues could actually exist in the real world. Both the women and the men she draws are distinct and clear representations of the genuine article. She knows how to capture expressions and, lately, her inclusion of illustrated side-thoughts are creative and compelling.

Batgirl is the second best Bat-Book on the market (after Snyder and Capullo’s Batman) and that’s saying something. I look forward to it each month.

The Best Sequential Art I Read Last Week: December 16 – December 22, 2014

I am a comic book collector and happy to be sure. I might say “proud” if I hadn’t, over a year ago, switched to reading digital as opposed to print comics. I feel a bit robbed of the tactile sensations of the hobby – of the turn of the page, the sneaking look to the panel a page over, the bagging and shorting and stacking and filing. Though I read my comics in a different medium than I used to, I still treat each Wednesday (comic book delivery day to specialty shops around the country) as different from the other days of the week. I subscribe and now, rather than go to the comic store to be handed the books pulled for my “Hold Slot,” I click a button on my iPad and watch them download.

Then I read them.

Rare is the week that I don’t read them all between Wednesdays and some weeks I have, well… let’s just say more comic books in my digital downloads than a grown man should. Comic book legend Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) is one of the most influential men even to put pencil to drawing board in the pursuit of making comics. So influential was he that the industry awards (think the Oscars or the Emmys or the Grammys) are named The Eisner Awards. He called comic books “sequential art,” perhaps because he became embarrassed by his profession when he had to admit what he did for a living. This is my weekly reaction to the comics I read.

I read 11 comics last week: Batman Eternal #37, Batman #37, Avengers and X-Men: Axis #8, All New X-Men #34, Batman and Robin #37, Batman/Superman #17, Justice League #37, Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man #8, The Multiversity: Thuderworld Adventures #1, Star Trek #39 and Wytches #3.

The best comic I read last week was Batman #37.

 

It is no longer a fair fight. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman is simply better than any other comic book being published currently.

It’s not a fair fight when I literally cannot fall asleep after reading the issue because it’s so haunting.

It’s not a fair fight when the images that Capullo draws won’t leave my mind (a Joker-ized new-born ward at Gotham Memorial Hospital?  C’mon!)

It’s not a fair fight when Snyder digs deeply into Batman’s mythos, imbuing the Joker with a terrible, perhaps mystical, history and burying Batman under the weight of his own past.

It’s not a fair fight when I complete the comic, look around for someone to tell about it and have to torture The Cinnamon Girl (who is always game for such things) with comments like “well, it really goes back to the story Death of the Family which, itself, was a sequel to the 1980s classic A Death in the Family which dealt with a 1-800 call in number…”

I had to tell someone how good this story is! That’s how good this story is! Each page propels the reader to the next. There are twists and turns (Joe Chill, anyone?). There are shocks. And there are very, very high stakes.

I can’t wait for next month.