What Comics I Would Recommend This Week

This was a pretty good week, I thought, with plenty of books that I liked well enough, and the following books that I can definitely recommend.

Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #1



Obviously, this book is going to draw a lot of comparisons with Promethea (and already has), and I think that is fair. Is it good as Promethea? I say no, but then again, I really liked Promethea. The art from Sook is amazing - he was already really good, and he is just getting better and better. Mick Gray (hmmm...coincidence?) does a good job on inks.

The story is really, really weird, but I think the very human qualities of Zatanna (and the other characters) really help ground the book and keep it from going off the map into just "weird for the sake of being weird" land...but it DOES get really close at times.

In any event, even if you end up disliking this issue, you are really doing yourself a disservice by not at least opening yourself up to the experience. It is definitely at the very least worth a look see.

Blood of the Demon #2 - I am continually impressed with this title. Pfeiffer improved a great deal over #1 in his dialogue, as that was one of the major drawbacks of the premiere issue.

I think Byrne has created a good dynamic here (basically, Etrigan and Blood have a Ronnie Raymond/Dr. Stein relationship going on, with Blood being able to control Etrigan and make him a force for essentially good), especially in the way that Etrigan responds to Blood's insistence on "doing good." Doing good in Etrigan's book means saving a woman from a mugging by biting a mugger's face off.

The art from Byrne is strong, and I think Bud La Rosa does a good job (although, please, drop the Nekros thing! It is weird!!) on inks.

Byrne and Pfeiffer also have been introducing us to the supporting cast of the book very quickly, and I think the newer characters, while still basically ciphers, seem interesting. The older characters are good as well.

I think this is one of the best non-Morrison DCU book coming out right now.

Death Jr. #1



I wrote in further detail on Death Jr. here, but suffice to say that Gary Whitta did a good job coming up with interesting personalities for the children in the story (in particular the freaks that Death Jr. hangs out with, but even the bullies who tease him at school), and Ted Naifeh did a really good job designing and executing the story. When the main character is a kid with a skull for a head (as he is the son of Death), you really have to stretch to give his expressions meaning, and I think Naifeh does a bang-up job of it.

The Punisher #19 - I had been down on this book for awhile, until I recently reread the Mother Russia storyline, which I really enjoyed.

This issue attempts to tie together the events from early in this series as well as the Mother Russia storyline, in a surprisingly continuity heavy beginning of the storyline, "Up Is Down And Black is White."

The basic idea of the story is strong, as a criminal decides of a way to get into Frank Castle's head, and it is pretty interesting...if a bit over the top.

The Leo Fernandez art is helped, I think, by Scott Hanna's inks. Hanna has a way of over-inking sometimes, which hurts when he inks someone like John Byrne, but helps with a looser artist like Fernandez.

I think someone a BIT familiar with the title would probably enjoy this issue more than someone new to the character, but I think it is enjoyable enough to recommend to most anyone.

Y The Last Man #32



I am continually impressed by the ability Brian K. Vaughan has to introduce interesting new characters to this title. This issue is no different, as the captain of the ship carrying Yorick and the gang to Japan is a fun, new character.

The same good dialogue that is present in most issues is here, which is appreciated.

There is a sex scene in the book, and I think that it was handled quite well.

Goran Sudzuka did a very able job filling in for Pia Guerra (although I presume the "writer" credit he got was a typo, right?).

The story progresses slow and steady, but each issue of this series is just enjoyable enough that I would recommend picking the book up.

Walking Dead #17 and Cal McDonald: Supernatural Freak Machine #1 were JUST on the cusp of being recommended. I liked both issues, but I can see how they both are very niche-y books.

All in all, though, like I said before, this was a good week of comic books!

What did y'all think?