Books of the Week: 3/4/2015

This week i read Descender, Rat Queens, and Saga.Go Image!

Saga #26 was good, Saga always is, but a bit slow, and maybe its me but some of the art felt a bit rushed to me, most of it was still beautiful and Fiona Staples is probably my favourite artist but i've seen better work from her.

Rat Queens #9...i hate to say it but i may be done with this book.We finally get back to the main story but for some reason i didn't really care anymore, maybe its been too long since i read this story but i couldn't get into it at all.As for Sejic's art, i liked it, but i thought i would love it, and i didn't.I don't know, maybe my expectations for his art were too high, but so far i gotta say i like the Upchurch art a lot more.I'll be giving this series at least one more issue, but if i keep feeling like i did after issue 9 i think i'm gonna drop it.

Descender #1 was my book of the week.I love this creative team!Lemire's writing and Nguyen's art work great together, in my opinion.This just felt so damn epic, and i really look forward to seeing more of all these different worlds!

I'll include things from the last two weeks since I didn't get around to it the previous week (too much time spent reading instead...).  Since there are quite a few I'm only going to add a comment where I've got something to say other than "I read this and quite liked it".

All-New Hawkeye #1 - Very much enjoyed this as a first issue.  The continuing treatment of Barney as a major character continues to make Clint a far more interesting character than he was for most of his long history for me.

Crossed +100 #3 - Tried it at #1 because it's a new Alan Moore, and I'm quite surprised at myself that I'm still reading it.  This still feels like a guilty pleasure, but there is a well thought out post-apocalyptic story going on here too.

Blackcross #1 - It looks beautiful and so far I don't have too much of a clue what's going on.  Will certainly read on, though.

Supreme: Blue Rose #7 - It looks beautiful but... actually, by the end of this series it has turned itself into a perfect Möbius strip of a story, wrapping back into itself in a tale of recursive continuities and revisions.  It built heavily on the Alan Moore series from the late 90's and I suspect will have remained incomprehensible throughout to anyone who hasn't read that, which makes it pretty hard to recommend with confidence.  Tula Lotay's art is really pretty, though.

Black Science #12 - Still love it

Miracleman #16 - The one where Alan Moore describes his idea of a superhuman Utopia.  From here on we will see Gaiman first examine it and then pick it apart.

Rat Queens #9 - I'm afraid I'm agreeing somewhat with IncredibleD.  There is still a lot to like about this book, but the art (although beautifully rendered) feels a bit static and painterly to me, without the spark and panache that made the earlier issues stand out.  I do like Sejic's art in general, though, so I'll be sticking around to see if he finds his feet in a few more issues.  Also, I do appreciate the difficulty Kurtis Wiebe has faced in continuing to bring this book out - Upchurch's art defined the book and helped propel its popularity, but if he was still drawing it I would definitely have dropped it.  As it is, I'm still supporting it, but I don't like the art as much...

Saga #26 - Continues to be really good.

Uber #23 - Things are happening fast in Russia - still a good read and a long way divergent from real history at this point

Bodies #8 - With a whimper not a bang... Bodies started out as a very intriguing multi-timeline murder mystery with a couple of really engaging characters but unfortunately it is a bit of a mess by the end.  I can't honestly recommend this to anyone who was trade waiting it after the first issue.  I would still love to see a proper series based around Shahara, though, she's a great character.

Low #6 - Absolutely love it.  Continues to twist and turn with every issue, the art is still beautiful.  This has got better and better throughout the first arc.

They're Not Like Us #3 - "Eric Stephenson reimagines the X-Men" is pretty much how I'd sum up this story of young people with superhuman abilities who are hiding in plain sight from a world they're sure would hate and fear them if it knew they were there - and otherwise are doing pretty much anything they want.  The art (by Simon Gane) is fantastic and the writing is pretty good too, but it lacks the high concept and design sensibilities that made Nowhere Men stand out so much and just makes me want volume 2 of that book even more.

Men of Wrath #5 - It wraps up in the only way you could reasonably expect.  If I'm honest this seems a little bit by the numbers for Aaron - an enjoyable read, but not a patch on Southern Bastards or Scalped, both of which it shares some common ground with.

Curb Stomp #1 - I liked it, but not quite as much as I'd expected to.  Will certainly be sticking around, though.

Damn, I don't even think I can pick; that was one seriously quality week for comics. Rocket, Black Science, Nameless, fucking Saga, All-New Hawkeye, Descender; all fantastic.

If I absolutely HAD to pick one, I guess it'd beeeeeeee . . a tie, between Descender and Hawkeye. They were both brilliant and utterly captivating, and they were both #1s, stellar art, couldn't pick between them. Both of them were 10/10's

I liked All new Hawkeye #1 the best.