Comic Related - If It's Comic Related, You'll Find It Here!

Welcome to another edition of the Why I Love column, where I, Eric Ratcliffe, pick something I've read, played, listened to or watched to discuss with you fair readers. This week has us going over the best of the last two weeks from Marvel, DC and some of the indie books. We have the beginning of one of the most anticipated storylines for a very popular indie book, a comedy book about who won't wield the shield, some important decisions being made in the Green Lantern Corps and Fraction's Iron Man reaching #25! So lets jump right in starting with Marvel.

Captain America: Who Wont Wield the Shield is a fun read that pulls in Jason Aaron, Matt Fraction and Stuart Moore who tell us bizarre stories ranging from Forbush Man getting the Winter Soldier treatment to a golden age Deadpool and Doctor America. The overarching story is hilarious and has Aaron taking loving shots at the Marvel bullpen with appearances from Millar, Bendis, Fraction himself, Aaron and Brubaker.

Verdict: It's an interesting and pretty funny one shot. The Fraction Doctor America story, which has Captain America ending up as the Sorcerer Supreme, makes me grin a lot if only for his sidekick. Also, Bendis' last lines of dialogue are laugh out loud classic. Definitely a buy.

Deadpool Merc with a Mouth #10 starts to bring things to their epic conclusion as Wade and crew continue to attempt to escape the zombieverse while a couple AIM agents attempt to hunt them down and fights ensue. There's a lot to love about this series as it feels more like classic Deadpool to me. (Like the middle of Joe Kelly's run classic to me. With the exploding head kind of gags. Before the depressing Typhoid Mary stuff.) The covers to the series continue to be just plain awesome as well and Vic's comedic timing with the character gets stronger and stronger each issue.

Verdict: This is the Deadpool book. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for something funny to read. Also, for those that didn't know, after #13 Merc with a Mouth becomes the already running Deadpool Corps which I also cannot recommend enough.

Deadpool #22 is a done-in-one issue showing that shows Daniel Way might not have actually lost his touch with the character as I previously feared. Wade heads to a small town after being robbed by some dirty cops and decides to save the day. Of course when someone tries to pull a switch up on him he manages to actually help save the day and even gets a weird happy ending.

Verdict: It's a good issue, the art is solid, the dialogue is sharp and Wade is actually mostly in character. I'd rather people pick this issue up by itself and not waste the money on the Spider-Man arc which, honestly, is an insult to long term fans of the character.

Nova #36 has our hero returning to Earth after getting a distress call from the fake Quasar (If I remember correctly, certain board members are lucky we didn't put money on that bet before the real Quasar showed back up.) Of course, Rich's plans soon backfire and it's up to Darkhawk, Nova and the Worldmind to make sure that the gate is closed before a big bad from the fault (and Cthuluverse) enters our heroes' Earth. A perfect lead in to the Thanos Initiative that feels like an ending to the series. I honestly hope it comes back as Nova was one of the stronger books put out by Marvel.

Verdict: Definitely a buy. Will see in 7 months if it comes back... Hopefully not with a new #1.

Guardians of the Galaxy #25 has what I feel is an ending for the series (I really hope not) and has our team trying to calm down a rage controlled Thanos. Peter uses the cosmic cube, that's in his possession again, as Thanos hints at bigger things coming. We see a tearful reunion happen and over all this just feels like this might be the end of the series. If that's the case, this is one angry reader. For the issue, it's a great ending that is the perfect lead in to the event but...the Guardians definitely deserve to stay as an ongoing title.

Verdict: Definitely a buy. We'll see how this leads into the Thanos Imperative as things should be interesting from here!

Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #2 continues the fun of the original series (which I hope will be relaunching at the end of the next issue). Amadeus is put to the ultimate test with the help of Bruce Banner and others against Nightmare and Apollo to name just a few. There are plenty of great lines along with a surprise ending that really shapes where things will head next.

Verdict: Amadeus Cho is the new Prince of Power! You definitely need to check this book out.

We've reached the first book of the week! Firestar #1 by Sean Mckeever is everything in comics that I Love. Angelica questioning her second chance at life after battling cancer really makes the character stronger as she does her best to juggle both college and super heroics. Mckeever is definitely great at handling teen/20-something characters and explores a lot of her life outside the costume. I loved seeing her relationship with her father, helping an old nemesis from school tackle a serious problem and her friendship with Monica.

Verdict: It's a packed one-shot that I really enjoyed. The girl was once an avenger and is a strong heroine that people should follow into Young Allies! This is a buy.

Marvel Zombies 5 #2 continues our odd teams adventures through the Marvel Multiverse as Aaron battle's depression and our new team member (and Howard) have to fight their way through the chaos that is Killraven's world. Fred really nails both Howard and Aaron as characters and it's great seeing our depressed lead doing his best to deal with his situation. I also really got a kick out of his new status quo at the very end. Really can't wait to see where they take it.

Verdict: This book stars Howard the Duck and Machine Man... how can you not be reading this?

The Invincible Iron Man #25 is a milestone reached for Matt Fraction and Larroca. Any comic reaching 25 is a good thing, especially when it's kept the whole creative team for all that time. You know what? This is book of the week #2! That's how good this issue is.

Tony reads through everything that he's done over the last few years and basically tells Thor that he'd do it all again with just a few differences. It's a strong character moment that really nails Tony Stark and you can tell that he actually regrets what he did to Thor. I also really enjoy Fraction's writing of Mariah Hill though it looks like she'll be moving into the main Avengers book under Bendis.

Verdict: This is one of my favorite books right now. Fraction has hit his stride here, Larroca's art is beautiful and the cast is one of the strongest in comics.

Mighty Avengers #36 is the end of the road for the title and looks to be Slott's last Avengers story for a while. Hank Pym makes the penultimate movie against Ultron and manages to make a surprising deal that shows just how much the "Scientist Supreme" can think on his feet. It's a powerful issue that really solves a lot of the things that needed answering and has a great final page that made me smile.

Verdict: Slott's run is up there for me as some of the more enjoyable Avengers material next to guys like Busiek. They made Hank Pym a full on hero again and that is a definite plus. This is a run I cannot recommend higher.

We end our Marvel books with Thunderbolts #143 which ends the current status quo of the title which has been running for some time as a team under Norman Osborn's control. All the characters you couldn't help liking during Jeff's run (like Ghost, Ant man and Paladin) have truly heroic moves and the issue gives us a Quicksilver moment that you really have to read to believe. I cannot wait to see where things go from here for the title and Parker seems to hit his stride here. Reading both this and Mighty at the same time has helped really flesh out some of the material taking place across the Marvel U and I honestly enjoyed what I read.

Verdict: Easily some of the strongest Siege tie-in material out there. The Thunderbolts will be part of the Avengers line again starting next month so I highly recommend checking this out to see who's leading the program (if you didn't know already).

Vertigo's American Vampire #2 continues to become a cooler book with each issue. Basically our "stranger" maps out how American vampires have evolved and shows them to be quite different from the European vamps of old. I love the fact that the lead female was turned as it will be interesting to see things from her perspective. We're two issues in and I love this series as much as The Unwritten and Sweet Tooth. Also, Stephen King really is at the top of his game with the second feature each issue. I cannot wait to see if we get any other kinds of Vamps in the series.

Verdict: A certain buy!

Image's Invincible #71 has our hero heading off into space. He takes a slew of fellow heroes with him, but not before he shares some ominous words with Eve. Also, Mark's father confronts his now ex wife and they pick up Tech Jacket for the fight. This is a great prelude to the war and leads perfectly into a fight that will obviously be one of the most brutal things we've seen to date in the series.

Verdict: Invincible is a strong book and that last page is one of the most powerful things they could have done. I cannot wait for the next issue.

Book of the week #3 comes from Top Cow and is a new #1 for The Magdalena solo series. Ron Marz once again shows a great understanding of a female character in Patience as she does her best to fulfill her obligations without the church. Sadly, she can't stay away for long as it takes the church to share that if she doesn't want to work for them, she'll be replaced. Also, I'm pretty sure we just met the anti-christ on the last page (which is definitely an interesting thing to put in any book).

Verdict: The art fits the tone. There are some great demons in the first issue and a bigger conspiracy is hinted at. Top Cow has another hit on their hands and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.

Power Girl #11 is probably the strongest issue of the series to date. We find out where the real Terra is, what the ultra humanite was up to this time and get some real resolution to the plots that were going on in the book. The book stays playful even during it's darker moments. You feel for Karen and Atlee during the whole situation and the art is beautiful. I really like Karen getting to see where Atlee lives.

Verdict: Awesome art, great action and a strong story make this a book I wish the creative team wasn't leaving after #12. I really love this series and hope it stays like this once the creative change takes place.

Green Lantern #53 is basically part of Brightest Day #1, a tease of Tomasi's new GL series and juggles several plot threads that are just starting to evolve. I have a few problems with that as I think that each series should really stand on it's own. It need to feed into the other series as GL and GLC have done in the past, but there's a scene in this issue that continues right into Brightest Day #1. That bothers me a little as a reader. There are some great moments though from Larfleeze attacking Luthor to Ganthet and Guy talking with a surprising allie. It just doesn't feel like I'm only reading Green Lantern. It feels like I have to read 5 other books to see this material paid off on.

Verdict: I hate to say this but it feels like the main Green Lantern book is a skip for once.

My last book of the week is also our last book for this week. It's none other then Green lantern Corps #47 and basically a Blackest Night prologue. There is a lot to love about this issue but easily the best thing is Salaak's speech to the Guardians. I would really love to see him move up in the world and think it would be pretty kick ass to see him as a Guardian. He really puts them in their place and seeing Arisia punch a Guardian was quite cool as well. Everyone gets some time to shine in this issue and each moment is really solid. I honestly wish Tomasi wasn't leaving but I am happy he's getting a new Green Lantern series.

Verdict: A great issue with so many great moments packed into it. A buy of the highest order!

So that's it for this edition folks. Join us next edition as we talk Siege, Brightest Day, Deadpool Corps and Secret Six... just some of the books for those two weeks. See you next column!