Hey kids! It’s your favorite host of the hilarious podcast, Comic Issues, coming back to you again with my top picks for the comic book week of 3/2/11.
With last week being pretty hard on my wallet, it was kinda nice to have a light week this time around. Although, there’s no such thing as too many comic books. Comics kick ass, and so do you, and good things come in light weeks. If you dig anything I talk about today then be sure to keep an eye out for them at your local shop this Wednesday, and don’t forget to check out another awesome podcast from me and the guys.
- Top Pick: Ultimate Captain America #3 Creative Team: Aaron (Writer) Garney (Pencils) Keith & Milla (Colors)
Cap is on the hunt for the Captain America of Vietnam, Frank Simpson. This has led Mr. Red White and Blue to Cambodia, where Cap stumbled into a small village filled with old ladies and children… and they’re all super soldiers. The tiny town of bad asses is too much for Cap to handle, and he’s thrown into a cell where Frank Simpson begins to attempt to brainwash Cap with conspiracy theories and propaganda.
What I really liked about this book was that, at one point, I almost thought that Steve Rogers was going to change sides. I’ve got to give credit to Jason Aaron for setting the tone in this book. It’s been fairly bleak giving Cap a lot of struggle to push through, including getting his butt handed to him on a recurring schedule. Ron Garney has a real talent for storytelling; his choice of shots is really driving a lot of moments in the book where there are no speech bubbles. I believe this series only has two more issues to go, but I am 100% in on following it to the end and watching Cap turn things around and show us why he’s the only Captain America we’ll ever need. - Runner Up: Green Lantern #63 Creative Team: Johns (Writer) Benes & Syaf (Pencils) Hunter & Cifuentes (Inks)
This week we enter the “Prologue” of what is going to be the War of the Green Lanterns. To say that Hal Jordan has been a little busy lately would make a Guardian laugh. Geoff Johns has been keeping our favorite Emerald Warrior incredibly busy since coming back to the Corps, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better any time soon. This issue actually had a big shocker relating to the Manhunters and the origin of the Green Lantern’s power. Honestly it was pretty awesome considering how often the Manhunters disaster comes up; unfortunately, nothing else actually happens to advance the story. I’m a big fan of Ed Benes’ art, and you can’t really go wrong with Geoff Johns as your scribe, so this book was definitely worth picking up.
Also this week:
- Avengers Academy #10 — One of Darran’s lovable losers makes a special guest appearance in this issue to give Hazmat a day off, and we find out what’s going on with Speedball and his dark secret when the students visit the Stamford Memorial.
- Batman Beyond # 3 — I’ve been getting this book for Daryck, because I’m a nice guy that way, but this issue was fun with great artwork by Ryan Benjamin and a very “Batman” moment for Terry.
Well that’s it for this week, my friends. It looks like next week will fill out nicely with a new creative team for Batman and Robin, and one of my current favorite books — New Avengers — will be coming out as well.
If I missed any great books this week, let me know down in the comments sections below. I’d love to hear from you. Also don’t forget to check out our newest Comic Issues Podcast coming out every Wednesday for your listening pleasure.
-Anthony Silva
Tiger-blooded Adonis