Yeah, so, I haven’t even finished last weeks books.  Thanks, work!

• Astro City #15 (DC/Vertigo):In #14,  Kurt Busiek offered up a mechanical mystery in the style we’ve come to expect.  Liked Ellie right away and hated seeing her get taken advantage of.  That’s something Busiek is very good at: creating sympathetic characters in a finger snap.  Looking ahead: I’m already anticipating the twist–meaning: I’m pretty sure I know how this is going to play out.
• Copperhead #1 (Image): Another sci-fi Western?  Oh, why the hell not?  Hickman and Dragotta’s East of West–also out this week–is excellent; Spurrier and Stokely’s Six-Gun Gorilla–a new classic–was one of the best books of 2013.  Wonder what Jay Faerber and Scott Godlewski have in store for us?  Will it show up in the square at high noon, or will it hightail its way out of town?
• East of West #15 (Image): Still running at a very high level.  Love Dragotta’s Lovecraftian creatures, which really pop with horrific elegance.

• Lazarus #11 (Image): #10 found Jonah Carlyle having a whale of a time in Hock territory.  He sure got a taste of his own medicine, didn’t he?  Tasted a lot like Jakob Hock’s medicine, which was forced down his throat, no doubt.

• Sheltered #11 (Image): This book is pissing me off.  I’m so damn conflicted!  I really don’t want to read it anymore; but, at the same time, I want to know how the whole thing plays out.  I guess I could always thumb through it at the shop or ask a friend.  Or just keep buying it.
• Velvet #7 (Image): Super-solid storytelling all the way around from Brubaker and Epting.  Doesn’t have the one-punch knockout power of Fatale, but certainly racks up points round after round.
• Hawkeye #20 (Marvel): Re: #19: How do two follow up an issue of such deafening power?  Answer: they don’t!  Instead, we get another patented Hawkeye fill-in issue with Annie Wu.   Lucky for us, the fill-ins are generally pretty good.
• Magneto #9 (Marvel): The last two issues haven’t lived up to expectations–mainly because they’ve played out just as expected.  Sure, a fully powered Magneto’d be attractive; but I’d like to see Bunn working at full power, too.

• Ms. Marvel #8 (Marvel): The last two issues of Ms. Marvel have been pretty terrible. If this one doesn’t remind me of the reasons I fell in love with Kamala in the first place, I’m out.  (See that: it took only two issues to change my tune about this book.)  Big plus–huge plus: Adrian Alphona is back.
• The United States of Murder #5 (Marvel/Icon): I’ve enjoyed the series a lot more than I thought I would.  Bendis is sitting right in the pocket; he’s playing toward his strength and delivering.  Highlight of #4: a couple of to-die-for double-page spreads from Oeming.
• Annihilator #1 (Legendary): Grant Morrison and Frazer Irving?  Yes, please.

• Archer & Armstrong #24 (Valiant): “American Wasteland” was about as good as it gets–and not just for A&A, mind you.  Karl Bollers assumes writing duties for an issue with a nice assassin; that’s right: Mary-Maria takes center stage for the first time.  And I’m thinking, as you are: it’s filler time.
• Black Market #3 (BOOM!): #2 was OK; it suffered from having to necessarily follow up a fantastic first issue, which found me actually–and surprisingly–liking Barbiere’s writing.  I know, right?  The second installment, however, reminded me of why I had reservations going in.  Got a little rough.  What kept me from completely losing interest was Victor Santos’s art, which reminds of Mateus Santolouco, Jeff Stokely, Michael Avon Oeming, and Vanesa Del Rey all at once.  Nice company.  Despite the drop off on the writing side, I’m going to stick it out to the end.

• The Bunker #6 (Oni): The Bunker has been really, really good.
• Caliban #6 (Avatar): “It’s going to be okay”?  Really?  What are the odds of that?  Unless, of course, San goes full Ripley on the alien’s ass.  That’d be plenty okay by me.
• Dawn/Vampirella #1 (Dynamite): There’s no way around it: Linsner‘s Sin Boldly was a disappointment.  Sure, Linsner’s art is gorgeous, but his writing’s always been tough to swallow.  Leaves me wondering if I should just let this one go.  Would be out of character, of course, considering the fact that I’ve got just about everything Dawn going back twenty-five years.
• Magnus: Robot Fighter #6 (Dynamite): Re: #5: a nice marriage of action and intrigue.  Sure, there was no reason to doubt Van Lente, but still: this series has been a pleasant surprise.
• Stumptown Vol. 3 #1 (Oni): Double your Rucka, double your comic book fun!  Will never forget Vol. 2 #4 with its stunning car chase that quite literally had me turning pages.  Hoping for similar high notes this time around.

• Terminal Hero #2 (Dynamite): Liked #1 enough to go another round.  It wasn’t a perfect premier issue by any stretch.  (I can’t help but think of Peter Milligan pulling pantyhose over his head.  A single issue isn’t meant to have so much story shoved inside!)  If the pacing improves, I’ll stick around.  If not, I’m out.
• Thomas Alsop #4 (BOOM!): The series has been straight-up great.  One of my favorites.  We loved #2 enough to name it one of our Top 5 Books of July; and #3 was also very strong.  Can’t wait to rock out with Chris Miskiewicz and Palle Schmidt again!

What are you looking forward to this week?

Turning pages,

Scott