This week, quantity marries quality.  The bridal bed: my bag.

• The Massive #21 (Dark Horse): #20 was one of our Top Five Books of February–and deservedly so.  Brian Wood and Garry Brown have hit all the right notes leading up to this arc ender–a real “Bloc” buster!
• Mind MGMT #20 (Dark Horse): It might seem as if we’re getting paid to say so, but, no, it’s just true: #19 was our #1 book of February. That’s back-to-back top spots! And let’s not forget that #17 was our top single issue of 2013!  Innovation has been at the heart of our celebration; in that, we can’t wait to see what Matt Kindt has come up with this time around.

• Pariah #2 (Dark Horse): It’s Sheltered in outer space. I like Sheltered enough, so I’ll try another.
• Dead Boy Detectives #4 (DC/Vertigo): So very Vertigo, isn’t it? Has hooked me much in the same way John Ney Rieber hooked me with The Books of Magic ongoing back in the day. I love how the three narrative voices come together–kind of like the comic book version of Peter, Paul, and Mary.

• The Sandman: Overture #2 (DC/Vertigo): I’m already over its being overdue.  I’m not much of a Gaimanite.  It’s all about J.H. Williams for me.  His art is always welcome in my bag.
• The Wake #7 (DC/Vertigo): Can’t say that I understand the celebratory waves left in the wake of the first five issues. But what I can say with certainty is that I liked #6 quite a bit–despite some expository dialogue that smacks of a Sci-Fi original movie. The clever cliffhanger–one of several selling points of #6–calls quickly–too quickly?–to mind what’s come before, making this month’s offering as crucial as can be.  The danger: doling out too much or too little here in #7.  Snyder’s got to play this one just right.
• Alex + Ada #5 (Image): Sure, the forum discussion gets a tad technical, but it is easily chalked up as a necessary evil–one rehabilitated almost immediately by Jonathan Luna’s patient visual storytelling, which, along with complementing well Sarah Vaughn’s more economical approach to the dialogue, accentuates the suspense born of Alex’s choice to reboot Ada.  Love the way the issue ends: I’m pretty sure my eyes widened–like Ada’s–in anticipation of that final page turn, which revealed, to my dismay, a suffering Ada.  Kudos to Luna and Vaughn for making me suffer along with Ada in the moment and along with Alex for the last month or so.  I’m desperate to discover how this pans out for the two of them three of us.

• Fatale #21 (Image): This siren song of a series hit a high note with #20–our #2 book of February. Yet another insistent miracle from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.  Not yet willing to accept that Josephine’s story is coming to an end.

• The Manhattan Projects #19 (Image): Can you guess which part of #18 I appreciated the most?  If you’ve been following our blog for a while, you know exactly which sequence left me squealing with joy–a hole lot of joy!  (Hint: it’s not the one in Oppenheimer’s head.)
• Satellite Sam #7 (Image): With #6, it’s back to business and, as a result, a return to form.  Matt Fraction’s writing is crisp, the dialogue an intricate dance; Howard Chaykin’s artwork is–as always–out of this world.
• Captain America: Homecoming #1 (Marvel): It’s Fred Van Lente’s turn to wield the shield!  Oh, I’m definitely down with FVL.  I’m hoping he’s going to deliver the Super Soldier I’ve been longing for since Brubaker bailed–and Remender, subsequently, failed.

• Iron Patriot #1 (Marvel): Ales Kot (Zero) and Garry Brown (The Massive): a Marvel Team-Up worth picking up!
• Hawkeye #18 (Marvel): Has been a wild ride number-wise, and, as a result, storyline-wise.  #17 was kind of fun in a frivolous and furry way.  Speaking of: it’s time for another Kate Bishop singleton!  Starting to wonder if I’m buying this for Fraction or for his Hawkeye.  I’m leaning toward the latter.  That’s right: I’m the Leaning Reader of Hawkeye–who may pass on Clint-less copy.
• Miracleman #4 (Marvel): The real Miracleman: Alan Moore.  Hard to believe this stuff is thirty-plus years old.
• The Bunker #2 (Oni Press): An interesting premise, naturally complicated by the time-travel aspect, delivered with relative ease by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Joe Infurnari.  Looking forward to this one.

• Doc Savage #4 (Dynamite): Still haven’t read the first three.
• The Midas Flesh #4 (BOOM!): #2 was one of our top books of January.  #3 didn’t crack our list for February, but it was solid follow-up that gleefully gave us all the finger–Midas’s finger.  That’s some serious WMD: Weaponized Midas Digit.  Talk about the spoils of war!  The blood is the treasure!
• Uber Special #1 (Avatar): I’m still diggin’ Uber.  Not too sure how much we need a “special,” though.

What are you looking forward to this week?

Turning pages,

Scott