My Tops!

I’m assuming it’s my job to inform you when I like something, because that would mean that you might possibly like it too. So I decided to pull 3 comics out of what I got from Wednesdays new stack, and tell you what I liked and didn’t like about them.

First up is one I mentioned on Wednesday as something I was looking forward to. The reason I always look forward to this book is because it never disappoints. There might’ve been one issue where nothing big really happened, but other than that one issue, the whole story constantly feels like things are moving along.

And as I said before, this book contains massive amounts of mutilation and violence. In this issue we see Dara reattach her jaw, slice a man’s eyes out, and then we watch them grow back after a series of three panels. I feel like there’s no limit to what this comic can get away with, and I completely trust the Luna brothers to deliver one kick-ass story when it’s all said and done.

You can catch up in “trade-paperback” form if you want, it’s not too late!

A really good indie title that’s out there right now is Terry Moore’s Echo. I personally love it because of it’s mix of real life drama and certain sci-fi elements that use a lot of real science knowledge to give it even more depth. I won’t spoil the whole story for you; but all you really need to know is that a scientific experiment went a bit haywire and resulted in our main protagonist getting this strange metal coating on her chest. Since the incident, she’s been on the run from the government who’s trying to get it back. She wants to get rid of it, but she’s not entirely sure what the government would do with her once they’ve got her.

Terry Moore writes and draws this comic all by himself, while his other family members help edit and publish it. Considering he has to to do most of the heavy lifting himself, he does a damn good job with putting out this comic every month. His art and writing has grown over time. His first long running series, Strangers in Paradise, finished up in ‘07, which was comprised of 90 issues. I’ve yet to read it, but from what I hear, it was nothing like Echo. So to see him write a story with so much action and solid human drama,  it just makes me love this comic even more.

And finally we have Battle for the Cowl, written and drawn by Tony Daniel. Which I was really worried about when I first heard that the artist on Grant Morrison’s previous Batman run was going to take up writing duties. But so far, I’ve been quite pleased with how everything is turning out.

Recently Batman (Bruce Wayne) has disappeared, and now anybody that was loyal to him, or maybe just wanting to take up the mantle, are duking it out for the title of Batman. There’s currently one mad man out there with two pistols and a crazy-mean looking mask, doing his best to clean up the streets. Every body’s saying he’s Jason Todd (The second Robin, he died, then came back) but it feels like someone else because they still haven’t shown his face.

In this issue we actually see the current Robin wear Batman’s costume, which apparently fits him perfectly. He ends up getting in a fight with the crazy Batman who gives him a pretty nasty injury at the end of this issue.

Another plot point is that Dick Grayson finally feels the need to put on Bruce’s tights, when all of a sudden, he discovers that Tim is wearing them.

SO yeah… I think I’m enjoying this so far. It’s got all the right twists and turns with out selling anyone out too soon.

Those are my tops!

-Ben, the comic guru