The Ettatorial for the Week of 9-10-08
A medium sized week of releases this week, but over-flowing with quality reads. Whenever I get a week like this, where every single book is enjoyable, it makes the choice for pick(s) of the week complicated. It really makes me have to sit and really rate what books truly deserved the pick, and as such, that’s how we get here.
The first pick this week is Criminal (Volume 2) #5. Like I say every time a new issue is released, this truly is one of the finest books being published today. It gets hard to continually come up with something creative or new to say about how great it is. Just know that Ed Bruabaker is at the top of his writing game with this series, and Sean Phillips dark and expressive artwork makes every issue into a visual feast. The “Bad Night” storyarc hits part two here, and with it’s twists and turns, really actually manages to surprise in a few spots. While noir story telling can be (comfortably) predictable at times, Criminal really manages to buck that trend a large portion of the time. Jacob’s story is compelling, and just proves that in Brubaker and Phillips’ world, that there is no such thing as a background character, just one who’s story hasn’t been told yet.
My other pick for this week is Ex Machina #38. Definitely a visual treat thanks to Tony Harris’ always excellent photo-realistic artwork, it’s Vaughan’s movement of his plot that gets my attention here. While every arc of Ex Machina has been enjoyable, certain ones have seemed to be ones more geared to be read and forgotten, leaving the central plot of Mayor Hundred’s situation at a standstill. Instead, this issue shows where Hundred is heading, and while it should seem obvious and logical to anyone reading, it still is pulled off nicely here. I look forward to see what happens next, and hope that when the book comes to it’s conclusion in a year or so, that this plot point bears fruit.
There you have it folks, your two picks for this week. I’ll see you back here next week for more, same time, same channel.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment