Top 5 Comics (September 26, 2012)

It's that time of the week were I look at the top 5 comics of the week that I am looking forward to reading. So enough of the preamble lets get to some comics.

5. Wolverine and the X-Men #17 (Marvel Comics): Jason Aaron, Michael Allred, and Doop, what more do you want? This has been one of Marvels best titles since it start with its fun tongue and cheek approach with throwbacks to many ideas brought up in Grant Morrison's New X-Men.

4. Captain Marvel #4 (Marvel Comics): This has been an amazing title for its first three issues, and it is bound at continue. If you aren't reading this you should start, your local shop should still have all the prior issues and see for yourself how good this is.

3. FF #22 (Marvel Comics): Concluding the story from the last issue of Fantastic Four what will we see happen with Bentley 23 after his reunion with his father? This is the second last issue of Johnathan Hickman's time on this title before marvel NOW and I a so curious to see how it all wraps up.

2. Batman, Incorporated #0 (DC Comics): This issue we get the New 52 origin of Batman Incorporated. How is this going to be different from how it originated pre-New 52? I guess we will have to read and see.

1. Happy #1 (Image Comics): Grant Morrison first creator owned series in a long time. I'm very curious to see how this plays out, especially with the talks of Mr. Morrison leaving DC come January. I'm hopeful for this new series since I'm a big fan of Grant Morrison's work.

Top 5 Marvel Bad Guys

Much like yesterdays today's post is brought to you by the Avengers dvd and bluray release. So we are looking at the other side of the mirror with today's post from yesterday, with that being the heroes, with a look at my top five favorite bad guys in the Marvel universe. So lets get this show on the road.

5. Galactus: The world eater. How cool of a character is that, with his dimensional form being that of a giant humanoid clad in purple and blue. But when it comes to him it really comes down to his crazy concept of being the world eater, it's a crazy over the top concept of natural destruction. What also is cool about Galactus is his Heralds, which for one brings us one of my top 10 heroic characters... the Silver Surfer! Galactus has always been one of those grand cosmic characters of Jack Kirby's that just always blew my mind as being the precursor to the grander stuff he would bring us with his Fourth World stories.

4. Magneto: The master of magnetism. Holocaust survivor, super terrorist, and mutant supremacist. It's quite the list of titles for a character. I do find it kind of ironic that a man who survived the Nazis and the Holocaust would eventually warp his point of view to the point to see all those who aren't the same species as him should be eliminated or ruled. That said he has always been that bad ass over the top super villain of the most classic standers, and stayed that way for many years.

3. Red Skull: HAIL HYDRA! The evilest of the Nazis, this originally supposed to only be a one and done bad guy with his iconic look and potential for evil became the star spangled Captain America's greatest foe.

2. Ultron: Created by an Avenger, and creator of an Avenger Ultron is just an awe inspiring force of evil. The super robot that will or could come to rule the world and eliminate almost all of the Avengers. With the Ant-Man movie on its way I have high hopes of seeing potential for Ultron being teased for a future Avengers film. Ultron is also has an extremely unique look to inspire fear and terror in those he faces off against.

1. Doctor Doom: And I bring you Death. To me the most iconic of all super villains is Doctor Doom, who's look is said to be inspired by Death (the Grime Reaper). Doom being the extreme egomaniacal super villain dictator, with him being a super genius,
sorcerer, and dictator of the country of Latveria. This Kirby character is the embodiment of super villainy to me.

Top 5 Marvel Heroes

In honor of Avengers coming out on DVD and Bluray tomorrow (tonight with midnight releases) I thought I would do a top 5 list of my Top 5 Marvel Heroes (or at least non bad guy characters).

5. Black Bolt: King of the Inhumans and all around bad ass Black Bolt takes the number 5 spot in this list. His classic and cool Kirby design conveys power & demands respect, tie in the fact that he is super strong, is silent because of his hypersonic voice, and his ability of molecular manipulation makes him a total bad ass.

4. Black Panther: Another Kirby creation. Wakanda's king T'Challa is a character with few equals. Being one of the first depictions of a strong African character from a thriving and advanced African nation, is one thing but also him being one of the universes smartest men, an expert strategist, and all around bad ass character is what puts him in the number for spot for me.

3. Hulk: Good ol' J-Jaws. Hulk was the first Marvel character I ever got into reading on a month to month bases, and always holds a soft spot in my heart. whether he's our classic jolly green goliath, Joe Fixit, or Professor Hulk I dig the character & always want more.

2. Beta Ray Bill: The first non Kirby created character on the list (and only one), but what can you say about Thorse? How about the fact that he's a super cool character that has all the powers of Thor but is way more fun to read? I honestly go out of my way to pick up any title that I see Beta Ray Bill is showing up in, and would love to see him one day in a Marvel movie.

1. Captain America: I'm probably going to lose my Canadian citizenship for this, but I love Captain America. He is just this stoic symbol of everything that is good and right. He was just a wimpy kid who wanted to do the right thing and became the worlds greatest hero. He isn't just a man that wears a flag on his chest, but the embodiment of all the good or at least potential good that one man from anywhere can do. This is also why I love Chris Evans as Cap, because he is able to depict that perfectly.

Top 5 comics of the week (Sep. 19, 2012), or Chicks Kick Ass

Late to the party on this weeks top 5 comics list, but here it is anyways. Again it seems to be heavy on the DC side of things, that will probably be changing next week... maybe, I don't know. I usually don't start figuring out this list till Monday or Tuesday, and that's if school or GEEK Club (a future post) doesn't keep me too busy like it did this week. Anyways on to the list.

5. DC Universe Presents #0 (DC Comics): This is the first oversize issue we are getting out of one of the New 52 titles, and it's in their wonderful anthology title. In this months issue they look at continuing the story of some of the first wave of canceled books. I'm really looking forward to see what is going on with OMAC now.

4. Spider-Men #5 (Marvel Comics): The final issue of Spider-Men, will Peter Parker get back to the 616, or will he be lost to the Ultimate Universe. Now we know Pete is going to get back, but this has been more about the character relations that face Peter in this different universe. It has been quite interesting to read, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this ends.

3. Batwoman #0 (DC Comics): As she has been one of favorite character from DC Comics, falling in love with her with the first series I ever read 52. I'm very curious as to how this Zero issue will play in with her story from 52, and her year long run on Detective Comics.

2. Wonder Woman #0 (DC Comics): This has been consistently one of my favorite series of the New 52, and I am looking forward to seeing the new origin of Princess Diana. Everyone should be reading this title, especially if you love good writing and amazing art.

1. Sword and Sorcery #0 (DC Comics): Another of the third wave titles, and this one sounds amazing. Another strong female character, and written by Christy Marx from all those 80's cartoons you know you love. Check this out. Bound to be an enjoyable read.

Top 5 Comics (September 12, 2012)

What's this? Another weekly comic list? How is this happening? I just happen too have a lot of fre time in the morning, and there's only some much of it you can fill with sleeping, reading, and other things. So that means you get another top five comic list. This week we say goodbye to a couple of the comics on this list. So lets get to it, starting with...

5. X-Treme X-Men #3 (Marvel Comics): This title has been a constant surprise for me. I do enjoy Gregg Pak as a writer, from things like Incredible Hulk and Alpha Flight, so I shouldn't have been surprised but this just seemed like it was going to be a different dimension cash grab through X-Men brand name. In fact this has been quite the fun dimension hopping adventure staring the 616 Dazzler and a ragtag group of familiar X-Characters. Check it out as our heroes face off against some familiar looking foes.

4. Resurrection Man #0 (DC Comics): FINAL ISSUE! In this issue we find out the origin of Mitch Shelley. This has been an exciting title that we saw cross paths with so much of the New 52 DC Universe in its thirteen issue run. It was also interesting to see that this was one of the few new 52 titles to keep the original creative team from its first run. This has been a fun read, but its poor sales doomed it.

3. The Shade #12 (DC Comics): FINAL ISSUE! The great James Robinson mini-series of The Shade comes to an end. This title had some struggles in sales, and almost faced cancellation so to see it reach its 12 issue finale is wonderful. This has been a great read with an interesting story of The Shade getting to the roots of some family troubles. The art has always been great on this title with its open door of artist, and the flashback issue were always an enjoyable read. If you haven't been reading this pick it up when its out in a collected edition.

2. The Manhattan Project #6 (Image Comics): Go figure I'd put a Johnathan Hickman title on this list. Well we have a new issue of The Manhattan Project, and after issue five's cliffhanger I'm more then excited to see what happens next. The first trade just came out last week so if you are interested in reading with this issue but want to see what happened before (I highly recommend doing this) pick up the trade when you go into your Local Comic Shop (or online comic shop) this week.

1. Fantastic Four #610 (Marvel Comics): A second Johnathan Hickman title, this must be some kind of mistake, right? Now way. As Marvel ramps up to their Marvel NOW! reboot we are inch closer to the conclusion of Johnathan Hickman's cross series spanning opus. This issue of Fantastic Four we will see cross over with FF later this month. This is also the second last issue of Fantastic Four before Marvel NOW! so I'm excited to see where it goes, and if anything he has left from the Fantastic Four and FF will follow Johnathan Hickman over to the Avengers titles he is going to be taking over.

Top 5 Comics (September 5, 2012)

So it's Wednesday September 5, 2012 and you know what that means, right? Yep that means I'm back in school, which means for at least a bit I might have the time and focus to update this blog more regularly, but that's not what you're here for. You are here for this weeks top 5 comics. This week is heavy in DC titles as it is also the start of their Zero Issue month.

5. Dial H # 0 (DC Comics): This issue is the story of one of the earlier dial users... back when it was a sun dial instead of a rotary phone dial. It would take for days for the operator to dial the letters since it could only be moved once a day at noon. This has been one of my favorite titles of the second wave of DC comics, and it is proving itself to be right up there with the great titles like Animal Man & Swamp Thing (that also come out today).

4. Creator Owned Heroes #4 (Image Comics): I've been wanting to talk about this title for four months now. It's an interesting take on the idea of a comic book magazine, and one of the better reads you will get for your dollar (right now you can pick up the first issue for free over on Comixology if you want to check it out from the beginning). You get two comic stories from two great creative teams as well as articles and interviews with other influential comic creators. Check this title out. I personally buy 2 copies of this a month just to support it.

3. Green Lantern #0 (DC Comics): This issue the issue that we get introduced to the new Green Lantern Baz, an Arab-American Green Lantern. On my twitter I've spoken out against the nationality of this character to an insane degree, I just don't get why almost every character in DC has to be American. Why couldn't Baz just be Arab? As a member of DC's international audience I would like to see more of a presence of the world besides for the U.S.A. This is also the last issue of Green Lantern I will be getting for awhile, since I have found my self enjoying the writing of Geoff Johns less and less and it has gotten to the point where I do not feel like spending my money on titles I do not enjoy.

2. The Phantom Stranger #0 (DC Comics): Dan DiDio's new title bringing back a character that seems to have something to do with the Trinity War event of next year. I'm just hoping that this is somewhere near as enjoyable as Mr. DiDio's last title (OMAC). This is also the first issue of the Third Wave to come out, so let's see if this hits us like tsunami, or just splashes our feet with with waiting for the rising tide of a DC event (that was a weird metaphor).

1. Smallville Season 11 #5 (DC Comics): This is the start of episode 2 of Smallville Season 11, and we see the introduction of the Dark Knight into the Smallville universe. What will happen when the caped crusader runs into the man of steel? Read and see.