Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week

After reading this Avengers 100th Anniversary Special, James Stokoe is one creator I will definitely be watching out for! Here's for hoping Marvel gets him some more work. This comic totally redeemed the whole "100th Anniversary" concept. Finally, it played with it in all the right ways. It was silly and futuristic and post-apocalyptic and crazy and did just about everything right. Stokoe took full advantage of it being a One-Shot. He didn't make it the last of an 8-part series; he made it feel like it was part of a bigger story while keeping it self-contained. Stokoe keeps the silly going throughout with notes from the "Editron 3030", which gives you a couple of fake yet believable references: " X-MEN WEDDING SPECIAL ISSUE #37" and "UNDER-HULK ADVENTURES ISSUE #33". The art is out of this world. It's probably my favorite new art I've seen since I started reading comics again. The attention to detail and vibrancy of every panel of every page makes you not want to even read the words. But you should, cuz the words are great too! I haven't even gotten started on the story itself. Tony Stark's alcoholic brain; Rogue, who's presumably taken Wolverine's healing factor; Beta Ray Bill, whose "spirit will outlive the stars"; and the 17+ time reincarnated spirit of Doctor Strange are dealing with a Badoon biomass in Kuala Lumpur when Mole Man III shows up. The deus ex machina Doctor Strange pulls out of his hat makes me have hope for superhero comics of the future. Hope that they won't all just be punchy smashy world-destroy-ey, that pacifism and problem-solving stands a chance as a future literary device, too. If the Marvel of 2039 looks back here to 2014 for some ideas, I hope they look to James Stokoe's Avengers "100th Anniversary Special".

On the opening page, we learn Gambit sleeps in the nude. With his cats from issue 3. We also learn Danger is hilarious. She explains how the kiss from last issue snapped her out of whatever Nil did to her by providing "direct organic counterprogramming", which reset her basic parameters. But she needs "further interaction" to reestablish all of her parts. Brown chicken, brown cow!   Cut to Serval Industries CEO Harrison Snow's suite, where he kindly asks his receptionist Linda Kwan to get dressed and leave his bed before his wife gets home. If you were wondering if anyone would be out-Scumbagging Gambit in this series, there's your answer! see more at http://marvelgambit.wordpress.com/2014/03/26/super-spoilers-all-new-x-factor-5/

Quick issue. Not a whole lot happens, other than Cypher and Warlock finally joining the team. Also, Warlock totally has a crush on Danger, who still has the hots for Gambit and wants nothing to do with him. See more here: http://marvelgambit.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/super-spoilers-all-new-x-factor-6-do-not-disturb-me/

I love how cinematic the whole thing is. The twist at the end was especially well done. Read all the spoilers here: http://marvelgambit.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/super-spoilers-all-new-x-factor-7-could-you-sign-this/

http://marvelgambit.wordpress.com/2014/07/02/super-spoilers-all-new-x-factor-10/

Out-freaking-standing art! Some of the best comics art on the shelves today! (And the story's pretty good, too!) See me spoil the whole issue at All New Gambit NOW!

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week

I breezed through this one in less than 10 minutes... and that's not a bad thing. It was a really easy, enjoyable read. Silk is a surprisingly fresh and vibrant new character--I'm looking forward to seeing more of her. They also set up some of the upcoming Spider-Verse stuff, so that should be interesting (although, not having read the previous Amazing Spider-Man stories, I was pretty lost on the references...).

Outstanding comic! One of the best I've ever read! I loved it! Check out my in-depth review here.

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week

This is the "Friend from Foe" crossover storyline, and I dug it. It's two comics with the same setting: a boat. Crossbones and some of his cheap goons rig the boat to explode. The timer's set for 4 minutes. In each of the respective books, you see what Punisher and Black Widow did in those 4 minutes. This is a really unique concept that comes across as very cinematic in its portrayal. These two books have always felt to me like they kind of go hand-in-hand, and the crossover works wonderfully here. I also have mad respect for The Punisher because of how accurate it is--the writer either has a helluva factchecker or has spent some time hanging around Special Forces, becuase he's got everything right. And the art in Black Widow is the only time I find that watercolor look working for me. If you're only reading one of these books, this neat little 2-issue crossover is a great chance to try the other one. If you're not reading either, this is the time to pick up both!

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week

I think I mostly like this one for the concept: different artists drawing the different time periods in which the same murder happens in London. The future is the most interesting, with some sort of journalist finding the body, and everyone there has been so inundated with information overload they've all forgotten how to think and speak clearly. I'm really interested to see where Bodies goes from here.

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week John Layman has managed to keep this wacky, crazy, fun comic grounded yet wildly entertaining for 42 issues now. Hopscotch the Kangaroo was the #PanelOfTheDay. This was another one-and-done buddy-cop case without advancing the overarching Vampire Bad Guy plot much, but Chew is still the best current ongoing series, IMHO (as you'll see on my Top 10 list on the right side of cobyscomics.blogspot.com).

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week

Chew: Warrior Chicken Poyo is about as much fun as you can have reading a comic. I literally had a smile on my face for the entire issue. For reals. It is the SINGLE MOST ENTERTAINING COMIC I HAVE EVER READ, I AM NOT EVEN JOKING. If you only ever read one comic in your entire life, read Chew: Warrior Chicken Poyo.

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week

Duggan & Posehn's Deadpool is the first Deadpool I've ever cared about, and 31 issues later, they're still doing it right. The Disco Deadpool and Dazzler versus vampires story is interrupted by Preston finding Deadpool's daughter in a way that still felt organic and was paced superbly. I love how the writers play the long game here and have points from several issues ago come back to mean something now (i.e., Deadpool's daughter). Also, the Agent Preston fight scenes were as gory as Invincible vs Conquest and, while not quite as meaningful, were still excellent.

Coby's Top 5 Comics of the Week
Fresh off his victory via synchronicity over Carnage in Deadpool vs. Carnage, we get a new "Deadpool vs" book, and it's shaping up to be just as entertaining. 90s Deadpool steals a prototype time-travel device and goes back to the Revolutionary War to kill everyone not on his list of historical people not supposed to die. 90s Cable coincidentally gathers the team that will become X-Force to go back to stop Deadpool. This comic features the greatest Recap Page ever.

Pretty terrible #1 issue. The art was great, but took too much away from the story. Read all my thoughts here: http://cobyscomics.blogspot.com/2014/05/elektra-1.html

(see w/ pics @ http://cobyscomics.blogspot.com/2014/03/thor-dark-world-prelude.html) Thor: The Dark World Prelude The wife and I were watching Thor: The Dark World on 3D Blu-Ray the other day, when she asked a great question: "How did Thor get back to Earth after he smashed the Bifrost in the first movie?" Wow. I guess I was so caught up in loving The Dark World the first time I watched it, I didn't even think of that. I mean, during The Avengers, there's that one part where Loki rhetorically asks, "How much dark energy did the All-Father have to use to conjure you here?", so that explained how Thor got there that time. But how'd he get back to Midgard again, after returning to Asgard with Loki and the Tesseract at the end of Avengers? Turning to Google, I discovered Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost actually addressed this issue. Only, they did it in two comics I hadn't heard of before: Thor: The Dark World Prelude. I couldn't help but ask myself, Well, because, Marvel really did a crap job promoting these comics. There are a bunch of these MCU Tie-In comics, apparently. And there's all sorts of answers in these Dark World Prelude Comics, too! Not just to the question about the Bifrost. For example, that whole opening part of The Dark World where Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three are fighting the marauders in Vanaheim... we just sort of open up there, with no explanation. Also, in the movie, Jane asks Thor where he's been and why he didn't come back for her after cleaning up New York, he tells her he had to restore peace to the Nine Realms. But why? What happened? We never really see in the movie. The Prelude Comic gives us a nice explanation: Thor's destruction of the Bifrost continues to shift the balance of power across the Nine Realms... So the Asgardians were basically the intergalactic police force for all the Nine Realms. With the Rainbow Bridge gone, they could no longer perform their peacekeeping

The wife and I were watching Thor: The Dark World on 3D Blu-Ray the other day, when she asked a great question:

"How did Thor get back to Earth after he smashed the Bifrost in the first movie?"

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week

This is one of those crazy issues I've been hearing about for the past year+, since I got back into comics. Since the story has already been told, it's been real tempting to track down the old black & white versions of Alan Moore's Miracleman to see what happens, but I haven't. I'm actually following along with them as Marvel re-releases the re-mastered editions (written by "Original Author"... whoever this guy is, he knows his stuff!). And, yup, you totally see the woman giving birth in this issue, in graphic detail. But it was beautiful--I wasn't grossed out at all. And don't worry, all you prudish parents out there: Marvel made sure to package this one correctly and include Parental Advisory stickers all over the place. All of that backmatter they include, however, is for the birds. Does anybody actually care about any of that?

Coby's Top 5 Comics of the Week

Normally I hate one-and-done stories that don't stick to any sort of continuity. It's the reason I stopped watching Space Dandy after a few episodes--there were no consequences, no payoff for the audience, and thus, no reason to keep watching. Normally I hate all-action, experimental comics with minimal dialogue (Hawkeye #11, the PIzza Dog issue, comes to mind). Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey take all of these things I don't like about comics and turn them on their head, producing a perfect comic. Moon Knight #5 has a simple plot: Moon Knight has to fight his way to the fifth floor of a building to save a girl. The simplicity reminds me of an old Bruce Lee movie or a classic NES sidescroller, and it is awesome for all the same reasons. If you get one comic regularly, make it Moon Knight.

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week!

You'd think I wouldn't enjoy a comic about a teenage shape-shifting newly-powered Inhuman Muslim girl teaming up with Wolverine against Thomas Jefferson's bird clone in the alligator-ridden sewers below New Jersey... but you'd be wrong. This book was tons of fun. For some reason, whether it's Jubilee, Spider-Girl, or now Ms. Marvel, Wolverine teaming up with teenage girls works wonderfully.

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week Happy to see that Marvel is making up for Dr. Strange not having his own book by delving into the Supernatural Universe with their Annuals. The story was great, but the art by Marco Rudy is the real reason this comic is #1. There wasn't a single traditional panel to be found, and I absolutely loved every page. I haven't seen art this good since J.H. Williams III in Promethea. Rudy accomplishes what Michael del Mundo has been trying to do with Elektra, but it works so, so much better here.

Kirkman brings the character-driven, super-interesting narrative of The Walking Dead and Invincible to a world that makes me think of Constantine. He doesn't disappoint. I especially loved the little zoomed-in boxes. They broke up the pacing just right, and added an extra special touch that you won't get in any other comic. Coby's Top 5 Comics of the Week

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week

At this point, I'm thinking I'll pretty much love whatever Kirkman puts his hands on. He's not the greatest comics writer of all time, but he's consistently awesome and interesting, which is perhaps just as important. The part when Kyle and the cop beat the snot out of that dude had me smiling. And I'm still loving the way the little zoomed-in mini-panels break up the pacing and make the whole thing more suspenseful and exciting. Azaceta's art keeps things creepy while adding an unmatched clarity to what could very easily be a murky and confusing comic

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week

This is the "Friend from Foe" crossover storyline, and I dug it. It's two comics with the same setting: a boat. Crossbones and some of his cheap goons rig the boat to explode. The timer's set for 4 minutes. In each of the respective books, you see what Punisher and Black Widow did in those 4 minutes. This is a really unique concept that comes across as very cinematic in its portrayal. These two books have always felt to me like they kind of go hand-in-hand, and the crossover works wonderfully here. I also have mad respect for The Punisher because of how accurate it is--the writer either has a helluva factchecker or has spent some time hanging around Special Forces, becuase he's got everything right. And the art in Black Widow is the only time I find that watercolor look working for me. If you're only reading one of these books, this neat little 2-issue crossover is a great chance to try the other one. If you're not reading either, this is the time to pick up both!

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week

The art is incredible: the location's have a Final Fantasy VII feal to them while the action scenes are some of the most dynamic in comics today. This issue was all about Rai, who continues to be a strange enigma I can't wait to learn more about. The Positron losing her human has some interesting story potential as well. My only problem with the concept of Rai is that it feels more like 100 years in the future than 2000, but that's really an impossible argument. Rai continues to be great sci-fi.

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week!

Weibe and Upchurch continue to impress with this Eisner Award Nominee for Best New Series. Rat Queens #7 takes the story far outside of its little town and foreshadows some big threats coming down the road, all while continuing to develop these characters we all instantly fell in love with. This was also one of only a couple of comics this week with an actual Letters Page, so you gotta give 'em props for that fan interaction!

Coby's Top 5 Comics of the Week

I had heard some noise over Scottie Young getting a new book at Marvel but wasn't familiar with his work before this. I figured if 300,000+ issues of this #1 had been ordered, I'd better give it a try, too, to see what all the fuss is about! Young did not disappoint. This is about as much fast, fun action as you can pack into a comicbook. The plot's a little weak (something about all of Rocket's ex-es teaming up to kill him), but the art more than makes up for it.

When Alana takes the new drug and her world explodes and the letters are written in bubbles around her is definitely the best page of the week. Fiona Staples delivers beautiful art, as always. I'm also intrigued to see where this thing is going with Marko and the daycare lady. And the "[s]omething terrible"? It's kind of a big deal, but not even the part that most sticks out to me about this issue. Coby's Top 5 Comics of the Week

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week

Because it's Saga, that's why it's in my Top 5. I do get the feeling sometimes like these monthly Saga comics are written for the Trade, as you get so little actual story in them. I love how realistically Vaughan's portraying the main characters' relationship, with the stay-at-home-dad problems meeting the working-mom-starting-a-drug-habit thing. I'm kind of scared for where this arc will go, but I can't wait to get there.

Outstanding issue! Hilarious fun, uniquely takes advantage of the medium, with some life messages to boot! Read my full review here: http://cobyscomics.blogspot.com/2014/05/secret-avengers-3.html

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week!

This week, Secret Avengers #5 drops... and it totally lives up to the hype. It takes the Caramel Gelato story from Secret Avengers #3, combines it with The Pregnant Fury from Secret Avengers #4 and Coulson and Nick Fury's antics in the Original Sin: Secret Avengers Infinite Comic, mixes it up with some who-dun-it mystery, gives M.O.D.O.K. some actual character development, and continues to be one of the most interesting and entertaining comics available.

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week

If Secret Avengers wasn't my favorite comic before, the last page Reveal made it so now. I won't spoil it for you here, but I love it. Hawkeye... Black Widow... Spider-Woman... Vladimir the sentient bomb... Maria Hill... M.O.D.O.K... PTSD'ed Coulson...every character in this comic is my favorite version of that character. With the revelations this issue, I now even like Kot's Hawkeye even more than Fraction's. Secret Avengers is a fantastically fun comic, and has been so for six issues now.

Coby's Top 5 Comics of the Week

I read the first three issues of Southern Bastards in one sitting--that's how compelling a story this is. If you've never been to Alabama but want to get a feel for the True South, just pick up this comic right here by the two Jasons. If you've spent any amount of time at all South of the Mason-Dixon line, this comic will be an uncomfortable reminder of everything anyone who's managed to leave the South hates about it. I can't wait to see Earl whoop some more ass with his big stick!

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week

The 2099 series from the '90s were terrible and I have absolutely no nostalgia whatsoever attached to them. When Miguel O'Hara showed up in Superior Spider-Man I could care less. Even when Spider-Man 2099 got a few pages in the back of Amazing Spider-Man #1, I wasn't feeling it. But Peter David has won me over. The writing in this issue is superb. I'm not familiar with anything from David before All-New X-Factor, but, apparently, he's kind of a big deal. And now I see why. Just... everything... from the wisecracks to the overall story--the writing here sucks you in and doesn't let you go.

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week

I've always called Storm my favorite female superhero, based solely on my impressions of her from the 90s X-Men animated series and whichever X-Men comics I could get my hands on back then. Greg Pak's Storm, however, has solidified her in that position. This comic excellently showed all the different sides of Storm: weather goddess, African savior, headmistress.... It was a real treat to read Storm's inner thoughts and see how different they are from her outward portrayal. The only beef I have with this one is the way Beast was kind of acting like Batman's Oracle for Storm... being a member of the Illuminati, I don't really see Beast as having time to do a thing like that. But I get it, he played a great foil for her. Regardless, this #1 issue played a lot like a TV pilot and set up some interesting aspects of Storm's life and I can't wait for more!

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week

I thought for sure this book would be cancelled when Peter took his body back from Otto, but I'm really glad it's not. The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #13 isn't as hilarious as some of the other 12 issues (the part from the Preview was probably the funniest bit), but it moved the story forward and was highly entertaining nonetheless. Shocker's interactions with the old man's head were the highlight of the book.

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week

We get the origin story for Overdrive here, and it is wonderful. This is one of the only comics that can regularly get a laugh out of me. Beetle in the bathroom with Shocker and Silvermane's head hiding in the tub is hilarious, and was given away for free with the Preview. They also pull one of the Hawkeye censoring gags where Spider-Man's head covers up a middle-finger. Speaking of Hawkeye, Superior Foes of Spider-Man one-ups it by having a few silent pages here that work way better than Deaf Hawkeye's recent foray with sign language in issue 19.

Coby's Top 5 Comics of the Week

This was a big week for cosmic stuff at Marvel (what with Guardians of the Galaxy hitting theaters in 4 weeks!), but my favorite new space book is Tech Jacket, from Robert Kirkman's Invincible universe. Joe Keatinge gets everything right, setting up an intriguing story with a truly galactic threat, while still keeping the human relateability factor above par with Zack Thompson and his dad's family dynamic. The art is outstanding, as I'd expect from a Skybound book.

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week

I'll admit Jim Starlin is one of those classic creators who I've yet to get around to reading more of, and this week's new OGN, Thanos: The Infinity Revelation, has made me regret that. For someone who made his name in the 70s, Starlin's art looks just as good and modern as anything else out there right now. I don't know if this is worth the 20$ price tag, but it was definitely a trippy, satisfying story, and everything you'd expect from one of the legendary creators of the Cosmic Marvel Universe. Then again, 20 bucks is about how much a ticket to the movies costs nowadays, and I felt like I got just as much entertainment value out of The Infinity Revelation as I would have from any movie. The story is right up my alley and is everything the Cosmic Marvel Universe should be. If the Guardians of the Galaxy were more like this, I'd have a lot more LOVED bullets and a lot less HATED ones....

Coby's Top 5 Comic of the Week!

The Auteur takes everything I love about those disgusting cartoons that prefer shockingly gross antics to plot (Beavis and Butthead, Superjail, Trip Tank, etc) and gives it gumption. There's dangerous experimental drugs that make your every orifice bleed. There's a love story. There's a murdering psychopath. There's a dude so obsessed with booty he throws his whole directing career away. There's a stripper with a boner. There's even a throwback to one of my favorite movies of all time, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. This comic is crazy, disgusting fun.

i'd love to see W.A.N.D. in the Dr. Strange movie! http://cobyscomics.blogspot.com/2014/06/how-to-do-supernatural-mcu-part-1.html

Chris Bachalo's art is awful. Just... just... awful. More than half the panels you can't tell what in the world is going on. The other half, you don't really care. Plus, nearly half the book had this weird sideways slant to it, for no particular reason at all. Also, instead of breaking up the action on different pages, there are these dumb white spaces there that serve barely any purpose other than to bring the story to a screeching halt. It was pretty cool seeing Magik's, um, magical side, showing her work with Dr. Strange is paying off. There are also poop jokes. And balls jokes. Seems like Bendis is losing his touch.

I don't know much about these characters' arcs over the past decade or so. Even so, this book did a fantastic job of getting inside Marrow's insane mind.