Five-by-Five

All I want for Christmas is for my weekly comic read pile to make me go Wow. Is that too much to ask for? Anyway, unfortunately this week I did not feel it as much as in weeks past and that is disappointing when looking at the “A” list titles shipping. That being said, I still found five books for you to take a look at, including two I highly recommend.

For the second-straight month, X-Men: Spider-Man was able to get it done for me as issue two takes place about 10 years or so after issue number one. Last we saw our favorite web-head and the uncanny ones, they teamed up to take on the Blob and Kraven as Sinister was working the puppet strings in the background.

This week, the plot thickens as we see the impact of Sinister’s plans and how they play out in the time period the issue takes place. I am really looking forward to see when the next time jump will land and what the story will surround. This series is a ret-con special, filling in the possible blanks of old stories now that we know Sinister has been behind the scenes all this time. For some, that is just wrong, but this series is fun and the writing (Christopher Gage) and artwork (Mario Alberti) are both superb and will almost definitely end up on my bookshelf when it is collected.

Part seven of the New Krypton storyline drops this week in Action Comics #872. This is a Geoff Johns issue and expectations were high that it would be a good one and I was not disappointed. I don’t know if it is because we are seven issues in (more if you count the Braniac storyline and Jimmy Olsen one-shot), but the series feels like it is dragging a bit for me. This issue was good, and some fun stuff happened as we saw a little more of the Lex-Braniac story unfold. But for the first time I have to admit, I am not that excited for the next installment.

And now for a blast from the past, DC Comics in a stroke of genius has decided to re-release The Watchmen as it originally appeared, in a monthly comic. I have been waiting to re-read this classic and this was the opportunity I was looking for, to do it the same way I did back in the day. It still holds up. If you have not read The Watchmen yet (and why not) or were waiting for a reason to do so, this is your excuse. Alan Moore shoves so much into each issue, that this is the best way in my opinion to experience The Watchmen, allowing you to fully soak in each chapter.

One of my second look selections a few weeks ago, Captain Britain and MI13 delivers its usual steadiness as issue eight his shelves this week. This issue has it all, a little betrayal, a nice touching moment between the undead and oh yeah, a little more background on this new and improved Brian Braddock. Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk continue to give us a book that is interesting with characters who have been out of sight, out of mind for too long.

Wrapping up my week is Batman Confidential #24. Part three of the current Joker story, Andrew Kreisberg has done a strong job so far with both the story and his portrayal of the Joker. There are a lot of different writers out there right now outing their own twists on the dude with green hair and a permanent smile, and Kresiberg’s version is a twisted-insane one who obviously knows what he is doing. If you have yet to read this story arc and are bog fans of the Bat and the Joke-Man, pick this one up at issue #22 and read through to this week, you will thank yourself in the morning.

Until next week …