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The Ettatorial for the Week of 7-16-08
By Etta | July 19, 2008
A medium sized week of releases this week, but some strong performers made it tough for me to choose my pick(s) of the week. So, in the spirit of kindness, not to mention the fact that I’m still coming off of a Dark Knight high (Best. Comic. Movie. Ever.) and the celebration of my second anniversary to my lovely wife (Love Ya hun), I just went all out and picked three.
The first pick this week is Captain America #40. As the cover shows, we’re finally treated to seeing the new Cap in action against a true threat, the Grand Director/1950’s Cap. A great issue for action lovers, not to mention getting to see the ongoing Sharon Carter plotline go into overdrive. I guarantee nobody saw the issue’s closing cliffhanger coming, and the book is worth it just for that. It’s just a fact that Captain America is one of Marvel’s strongest books, and while Brubaker is at the helm that seems to suggest that won’t change. A writer with this much talent is rare enough, but one who can mine the character’s continuity and use it without it being a negative attribute to new readers or those unfamiliar to certain facts is worth his weight in gold.
The second pick this week is Amazing Spider-Man #566. It’s the second part of Kraven’s First Hunt, and actually the much better part so far. I’ve been an advocate of the Brand New Day storyline here in the Ettatorial in the past, but most of those issues were from writer Dan Slott. Here Marc Guggenheim gets my approval, as this storyline has managed to tap into some of the great Spidey bits of the past. I’m a huge fan of the original Kraven’s Last Hunt storyline, and Guggenheim manages to tap into the flavor of that for his follow-up. Not only that, but he does it creating a brand new villain character for the book that actually has enough to make it as a returning villain in the future, something some of the new characters introduced lately don’t seem to have as much of. All the hallmarks of a great Spidey story are here, from humor to the down on his luck Spider-man that is an integral part to the character. A great issue for a great character.
The last pick this week is Batman and the Outsiders #9. This is just one of those books that I think gets lost in the shuffle at DC, and that’s just wrong. A solid action/adventure book with more character and heart than most things coming from the publisher at the moment, and it comes from the pen of Chuck Dixon, who seems to have been unceremoniously dumped from the company just recently. It’s a shame, because a book like this is just what the company needed right now. I will be leaving the book with Mr. Dixon, so I guess I’ll just have to enjoy the short run I was given. Anyway, tangent over, back to why it was one of my picks this week. The opening of the book with Metamorpho is reason enough for me to recommend the book, with one of the funniest bit’s in recent memory from a DC character, and one totally in line with the story. Anything with the French, sewers, and a shapeshifter is just ripe for comedy gold. And after all that, the action from the other Outsiders isn’t too shabby either, giving the book it’s signature Dixon action that the writer is known for. I whole-heartily recommend the issue, if for no other reason than to show DC that Chuck Dixon made the title (and it’s sales) what they were, and that in the future, there’s no substitution.
So there you are folks, your picks for the week. See you back here next week, same time, same channel.
Topics: Comics, The Ettatorial |
Tags: amazing spider-man | batman and the outsiders | captain america.