Top 10 Comics for the Week of 8/11/2021

Hey, we're not there Dan here aka the comic cons

years, and this is my Top 10 comic book video

where I go through all the books I've read in

the past week and pick out my top 10 favorites.

But before I get into the good, I do like to

discuss the bad or more appropriately the disappointing

as I talk about my most disappointing book of

the week. And the thing with this, just because

a book is disappointing doesn't necessarily mean

it was bad. Sometimes it does. In this case,

I wouldn't necessarily say this was a bad issue.

In fact, you can check out my full review of

this issue at comicscruisaders .com. And it's

Spiderman, Spiderman. and Shadow Number 5, and

this was the kind of different take on the what

-if idea. Of course, we're getting the what -if

TV show on Disney Plus right now. This, though,

where what -if typically in the past was a one

-shot, a one -and -done issue, this was a five

-issue miniseries, and this series centered on

the idea of basically what -if Spider -Man became

Venom, which we've seen different variations

of that idea play out in the past. but I think

this one went even further with it. And why was

I disappointed in this issue? Well, in general,

what I thought this series really suffered from

was the two first issues I thought were really

strong and came out extremely fast, and the general

idea of seeing Peter Parker become Venom was

intriguing, but I felt the fallout of that, the

way they dealt with three percussions, wasn't

nearly as well -crafted. I don't wanna give any

spoilers, I'll just say I felt... The fact that

Peter Parker did some really irrehensible things

in this series and the way that they dealt with

those consequences felt a bit too clean for me.

They weren't critical enough of the character

or he didn't really have to have any major repercussions

for the choices that he made. It almost seems

like those choices were out of his control when

the entire premise of this issue was just against

that, where it was him making a different choice

than the choice he made in the past. So, to me,

you had a great idea there, an interesting concept,

and it didn't to me go deep enough with this

final issue, which was what I was really hoping

for. I thought the art was okay, nothing necessarily

fantastic. I thought there was really inconsistencies

in the faces, especially the way Invisible Woman

was drawn, and there was this lack of dynaminism

with the art. It utilized a lot of the same camera

angles. It didn't really move the camera around

that much, and ultimately I just thought it could

have been a better issue. I did think the characters

were well represented, and strangely enough to

set up potentially future issues which could

hopefully enhance or fix some of my problems.

But as a finale to this idea, I don't necessarily

feel like we got much more out of this being

a five issue mini series than we would if it

was just a one issue one shot. So we'll see what

happens with the other what if new series that's

coming out shortly. Oh enough about the bad,

let's talk about the good by looking at my number

10 for this week. for this week is why number

two and I know a lot of the conversation behind

this book is unfortunately not been about the

content of the book itself because it seems like

people are just talking about how the first issue

was you know limited series and they couldn't

find a lot of issues but now that the first issue

has been reprinted and second issues out and

they're available digitally now you can read

them and you really should and although this

is a continuation series of the black series

previously which was about this idea that this

exists in a world where the only people that

have powers are black people and often they find

out about those powers after a tragedy for example

the first issue opens up where individuals killed

by the police wakes up in an ambulance discover

the fact that he actually is indestructible and

there's this entire world of super power people

living in the underground and after miniseries

and some other miniseries we see that that underground

has become more known and this series this white

series has actually been focusing on the government

as Caucasians white people are still in charge

of a lot of the political institutions and This

issue in particular, I think, kind of showing

the new dynamic and the attempt of that government

to find ways to, you know, take control against

these individuals. And we've seen similar ideas

like this play out in things like X -Men, for

example. You know, X -Men, you know, since its

creation was one that was clearly coming from

a world of looking at civil rights. And this

is taking that idea and really not at all trying

to be subtle about it, but making very interesting

points. And the thing with the book that is...

clearly attempting to be political is, well,

is there a good story there as well? And I think

that is certainly the case because I do love

a lot of these characters and there's a lot of

moving pieces within this. There's some celebrity

cameos as well. But this was basically a party

that went wrong. There's a celebrity gala and

it went chaotic and some characters made some

bad choices that ended up having some serious

repercussions. And the stakes here, I think,

are very consistent. The question is, can you

pick up white number one and number two and follow

them without reading a previous black series?

I think you can. I think there's enough context

there to understand the main theme in this story,

as well as the fact that a lot of the major characters

in this first debut in this, so it's not like

they have a long history. But I do think those

previous series, and there's a few miniseries

as well, give this world a further context. And

I do have to say I love seeing Dunham Mall Ingalls

are any time. I would love the book, for example,

The Wrong Earth that he was working on. He really

has a knack for showcasing superheroes and in

a realistic world. And he does it here in Spades.

So definitely advise checking this out if you

want to read a comic that has something to say

as well as having a good story behind it. Definitely

think why it would be up your alley. Number nine

for me for this week is Fantastic Four Life Story

number three, and this is the continuation. Again,

this is almost like a what if story as well,

similar to the Spider -Man life story where they're

seeing the Fantastic Four age in real time, this

issue taking place in the 80s. and I think what

this issue worked with well with me is because

it had a lot of strong character moments but

I like it how it integrated into the actual history

of the 1980s and I was wondering like what would

be the major event you know it would link to

because there's you know you're talking about

an entire decade and Makes sense the fact that

this was actually dealing with Star Wars No,

not the not the movies but the the missile defense

system that was being designed at that time due

to the Cold War and issues with the Soviet Union

and what you see is Reed Richards trying to prepare

the United States government not for Soviet takeover,

but the fact that Galactus is coming and trying

to get people to realize that they're this ominous

threat that we should be focused on not pointing

things at ourselves. There's a great line about

how only a fool point a gun at their own head

and I think it's certainly showcasing the idea

of how even when you have existential threats

of aliens and things like that. you're still

kind of focused on the wrong thing in a lot of

ways. And again, then there are some really strong

character moments here. This is an issue that's

completely narrated by, or mostly narrated by

Johnny Storm. So you're seeing his perspective

throughout this. And I love the way that they

portrayed him, because Johnny Storm was always

the kid, right? And now 20 years later, he's

a little bit older, a little bit wiser. He's

got a pretty interesting relationship with Franklin

Richards, who clearly is dealing with his own

troubles. And he's in high school trying to deal

with his own powers. figuratively and literally

his parents are still separated and then that

also is a big issue within that so there's a

lot of moving pieces there and these life stories

are difficult to kind of do in a lot of ways

because There's a lot that is done off the page,

in the sense of, you know, you're going from

the 70s, the 80s, and what happened in between,

how can you kind of showcase what happened in

the missing years, and I thought I did a really

good job of that. Fantastic Four stories are

ones that are about family, and this is that,

but in a different direction. There's some nice

moments between Reed Richards, Ben Graham, and

Johnny Storm, and I like the fact that Ben Graham

and Johnny Storm's relationship has matured in

a bit, like it would. I mean, sure, they might

- pull pranks on each other here and there, or

getting on each other's nerves, but not to the

extent it was 20 years ago. They've grown as

individuals, and this is also a different version

of those characters as well. And also, the ending

of this, I did not seem coming, and it was actually

much more emotional than one would expect, and

wondering where this is going to lead us in the

90s. and so on, because there's some major ramifications

at the end of this issue that are gonna forever

change the Fantastic Four, at least in this world.

So if you're a Fantastic Four fan, I definitely

would advise checking this out, but even if you're

not a Fantastic Four fan, you'd just like to

see Marvel comics or comics integrated into regular

US history or history in general, this might

actually intrigue you as well. Number eight for

me for this week is Eve, number four, and I love

how much this story has developed and changed

throughout these four issues. The general premise

started with this young girl who awakes and she

finds the world that she was living in was a

dream world and the actual earth has basically

been destroyed. It's just joking in future, New

York is underwater. However, with the help of

a robot teddy bear, she's going to kind of go

on this journey to potentially find her family

and help save the world. It seems seems well

enough and I thought that her first issue was

was good But now four issues in that idea has

completely changed a lot has kind of been added

to it and recontextualized Just where we were

at the beginning. I think it's going to be one

of those series That's even better when you kind

of reread it to see all the little hints that

are there and this has been a week of really

strong familiar bonds between characters and

this one has one as well with kind of a sisterly

bond but a different version of a sister bond

and I don't want to spoil it I'll just say that

the DC's two characters really care for one another

due to their kind of similar background, and

I just thought those moments, taking the time

to get the character moments like that, because

a lot of times with a book like this, a dystopian

journey, it's just go, go, go, go, go to the

next big thing, but this is really taking time

to take some breaths, have some good character

moments to make those bigger crazy things happen,

and there's a really odd and unique touching

scene between two characters that have a lot

of reason to hate each other. And maybe they

do, but they also have this affection for one

another. It's, I don't know. And there's an inevitability

to the demise that's about to happen. And they're

just kind of just sitting together waiting for

that to occur, kind of putting things aside.

And then, I don't know, it was a rather touching

moment for this really odd, unique book. was

rather effective, so definitely worth checking

out Eve. I know there's so many, so many, so

many different dystopian future books, but this

is one of the better ones I've read in some time.

Number seven for me for this week is the six

sidekicks of Trigger Keaton. Number three, I

talked about some books this week that were more

touching and moving and things like that. That's,

although kind of had some moments here and there

that might tuck on the heartstrings. This is

just a really fun, enjoyable book. Chris Schweitzer

and Kyle Starks make a fantastic team. I loved

when they worked on Mars Attacks a few years

ago and how much better that book was than it

had any business being. The premise of this story

is that Trigger Keaton is like the most annoying

action star that was ever created. He was hugely

popular, but pretty much anyone who worked with

him hated him because he was trash. He was basically

a jerk to everyone that he worked with. And one

day he's found dead in his trailer. He hung himself,

but... I love the people that previously worked

for him actually think that maybe it wasn't suicide,

but it was murder. And it's been that. That must

have been the mystery that's in the background.

That's the mystery that's kind of driving the

narrative, but there's been so much else happening.

And then there's been really fun character moments.

There's been really just kind of outlandish craziness.

Like this has a huge bar fight, actually a few

bar fights. A lot of these characters are characters

with a capital C. You know, you have like the.

big lumbering guy who loved Trigger Keaton even

though he was treated like garbage, a guy who

kind of gave up on acting and became a nurse

because of how bad it happened, someone who was

a fresher knew into the world and hasn't been

as kind of... dehumanize as much as some of the

other sidekicks because he just started working

with them and he's actually utilizing some of

the kind of detective skills he learned preparing

for roles in this mission and then each week

we kind of learn in new characters added to the

fold and they do a really good job of getting

you an idea of who a character is right away.

At the end of the day, it's just really funny

and enjoyable. It's never trying to take itself

too seriously. The drama is very limited when

it is there. It kinda comes and goes. It's a

great paladin cleanser. There's a lot of books

this week that I've read that are pretty serious

or pretty dreary. A book like this is one that's

gonna kinda put a smile on your face and realize

that comics being funny books is not necessarily

a bad thing. Number six for me for this week

is Black Myth number two and I really enjoy Ahoy

comics I think they're one of those publishers

that doesn't give enough credit for what they

do especially because they put a lot in a single

issue outside of just the normal story you get

some short stories you get sometimes even recipes

but what's usually the the way that Ahoy goes

is their books are kind of comedies first for

example you know you have Planet of the Nerds,

Second Coming, things like Billionaire Island

that tend to be you know comedy books funny books

and this I feel like has comedic bits but that's

really second fiddle to just this central drama

this is kind of a combination of a crime story

and a fantasy tale it's a rare wolf private eye

which may cause some people to roll their eyes

but it's actually working. I just actually really

love the mismashing of all these different supernatural

elements and usually me I'm one that's like kind

of put the supernatural to the side and just

tell a cool human story and that's kind of what

this is doing but in a way by bringing everything

in from like a minotaur to potentially vampires

and it's just a fun little world and I think

why it works for me is because of how matter

of fact it is in a way where you have a werewolf

and you have a minotaur that kind of is almost

like a kind of like a glorified butler in a way

it deals with a lot of infamous myths as well

so you're really into the clavic fables or things

like that I think it really be up your alley.

I'm thinking of things like the extraordinary

gentleman, for example. It has maybe more of

a sardonic tone than some of something like that

and it's not, you know, it doesn't have that

Elmore flair. If you like seeing like different

elements from across literature kind of combined

into one story. One of these aren't specific

characters per se, but I think it has a similar

idea of like let's take things that are typically

their own thing and bring them together and see

how that works out. And so far, you know, this

mystery right now is centering on missing silver

bullets, trying to find out what exactly is happening

and kind of like where it leaves off in the end.

So I almost just dismissed this book because

I looked at the premise thinking like, I don't

know if this is going to work for me, but I'm

really glad I stuck with it because two issues

ends, I'm really enjoying this. Number five for

me for this week is Daredevil number 33. Ever

since Marco Cicchetto and Chip Dodarski have

taken over this title, you know, 33 Issues or

Gout, it's been one of my favorite titles from

Marvel and all of comics. Not every arc, not

every issue has worked for me, but more often

than not, it's been one of my favorite books

of the week. And looking at this issue, you know,

looking at it on paper... I would think this

would be a really dumb issue, and maybe some

of the stuff in here is pretty dumb, but just

because it's dumb doesn't mean it can't work

or can't be fun. It does seem like some of the

worst things of the 90s coming back to haunt

us involving the character of Bullseye. Don't

want to spoil it, I'll just say that he's become

a bigger threat than ever before. And that's

why I think it kind of works, because Electra,

who's now Daredevil, again, I think that shouldn't

work, but is. To me, you feel how much of a threat

this has become. The fact that it's like, oh,

things are getting scary. How do you get through

this? The stakes have quickly been raised. I

love how she got out of it, how she was able

to make a choice where like, okay, I'm not able

to win this fight. What can I do? And that response

said that was kind of great. And there's also

some other characters that have been prominent

figures within this run coming back. And I love

where it leaves off. We'll just see Daredevil

in a very... peculiar situation and that that

has me kind of intrigued moving forward so again

like looking at this comic on paper like you

know Electra's daredevil bullseye and what happens

to him even the ending I'm like this is gonna

be one bad issue but it all comes down to execution

and again Marco Chiquetto I love the way he display

of this world. I often really love his action

sequences to make things really big and dynamic,

and there is some action here, but especially

in the beginning, but outside of that, it's much

more of a character piece. You have a lot of

moving pieces, and that's actually, and this

issue just made me realize that there's a, you

know, you have Kingpin, you have Electro, you

have regular Daredevil, you have some other undergoings

with other relationships between Matt Murdock,

there's... All these different soap plots going

on and it's been handled pretty well in the sense

of it still remained rather fluid issue to issue.

So 33 issues and I don't know if this is a great

jumping on point. but I do think this is a great

run if you want to pick up the trades. It's one

of the best Marvel books I would advise you checking

out. The number four for me for this week is

Rorschach number 11, and going into this week,

this was my most anticipated book of the week,

so you'd think number four would just be disappointing,

and that's not necessarily the case. I just thought

this week, the other books, I enjoyed a bit more.

This is a lofty issue. This is, of course, the

penultimate issue before this series comes to

an end, and with that, this is an issue where

we kind of learn everything. and definitely seems

to be somewhat of a pattern with Tom King and

his stories. Typically the 10th or the 11th issue

is when everything comes to a head and we kind

of then see the fallout with the next issue,

but I just, I love the way this issue is crafted.

It's not the best issue of the series thus far

in the sense of how it kind of lays out its pages,

but there's some really great moments in the

sense of you have basically this attack of looking

at what happened and having a conversation with

himself, but also. conversation with the characters

that he's also hunting and trying to determine

what happened to them and the way it kind of

lays out on the page is sometimes you could read

it in the sense of reading it all off his words

as if like him talking to himself or read it

back and forth as if they're having a conversation

or just read them separately as well and they

and they work anyway and that happens throughout

it just again finding cool and interesting ways

to craft a story and to again get into the themes

of the story as well as focusing on the narrative.

That's what I've really loved about this book

is the way it's been able to find new and interesting

ways to craft its tale. It's not always about

just putting a plot on the page or focusing solely

on that. It's like how do I craft or provide

this information in a unique and intriguing way,

especially with an issue like this that has a

lot of text. This is one of the issues that's

going to take you some time to read. And I just

thought the way it handled that conversation.

and I would try to, but this is really just two

people talking to one another throughout this

issue and that's a hard work for an artist to

make that look interesting and I thought Ari

Forna is again showing why to me this is the

best thing he's done his entire career and it's

maybe an artist that we don't really appreciate

nearly enough for an artist that's probably going

to be I think an even bigger breakout star. is

becoming one of the best in the game in the way

he kind of can take an idea and craft it on the

page. And I do think, again, even in, I don't

think, a fully crass, everything that the story

is about too, we get the complete picture, the

complete story with next issue and go back. and

reread it all in one sitting, because this is

a very dense read. There's a lot here, and I

don't think even reading it twice is enough.

Not that you lack comprehension of the basic

understanding of what's happening, but the deeper

meaning and how things are connected, or even

different aspects of the craftsmanship you may

not even pick up on first read. I think it's

one of those things where every time you read

it again and again, there's something new for

you to enjoy. thing for me for this week is the

silver coin number five this was actually going

to be the last issue of this series until it

was switched to an ongoing and every issue of

the series to see Michael Walsh partner up with

a very talented writer and that's the case here

although this is Michael Walsh partnering up

with himself so this is not Chip Jodarski this

is not another known author it's just him doing

his own work and I have to say outside of the

first issue this might be my favorite issue of

the series thus far I do think though it does

something I feel like I kind of get annoyed with

comics where comics feel like they always have

to explain themselves and I don't think that's

always something you need to do. However when

it's done right it's done right and that's the

case with this issue because what this does is

give us the origin of the silver coin to better

understand where exactly did the silver coin

come from and why does it have the power it has.

that's all revealed in this issue. Taking us

back to early English settlements where, of course,

you had things like the, this doesn't have the

Salem witch trials, but it has a very similar

feel to that. And it actually reminded me a lot

of that movie a few years ago, The Witch, that

was very authentic to the time. This isn't to

that level, this is not like they're speaking

old English, but I do feel like it has this very

similar tone. It also utilizes a goat and a very,

very creepy way and what you see is basically

you know people trying to take out this witch

and how she feels betrayed by one of her friends

and in what that leads to kind of the classic

story of betrayal and how that sin can carry

through generation to generation to generation

and that's happening here. This could have easily

been the final issue of the series and I would

put a nice bow on it, but I am excited we're

gonna get more. And I think I also chose that

Michael Walsh as a writer doesn't necessarily

need... other writers. He's just as good by himself

as he is with someone more notable. I know that

probably is going to give him more attention

if you can attach a name to something. I mean,

because of just the fact that there are so many

comments out. I do hope that this series and

its success makes him just as big of a name as

some of the writers he brought on as well. Although

I love this series, I am very glad it's over

because, man, it is a wild ride and I was so

tense reading this issue. The concept of it is

actually really simple. It's this mother who

is kind of... dealing with a lot of personal

issues. She decides to go out on a road trip

and she's taking her husband's car. It's a crazy,

future car that's almost like a hummer meshed

with a tank. It's got all the bells and whistles.

Fortunately, she finds herself lost in the desert.

She gets blocked out of the car. She can't get

in. And because it is this future -listed car

that you can't even break in, she's worried that

her son's going to die of heat exhaustion because

the sun is beating down and she can't get him

out. locked in a car seat, and it's been just

basically this white knuckle ride for the last

few issues. I was just seeing her try to get

into this car, and this is the king of showing

and not telling. You know, with Worshack, that

was a book I think you could probably argue that

was more tell, not show, just with how many words

were on the page. But this like if you probably

you know would barely get to double digits, you

know with the amount of words You'll read this

issue. It was just it was also beautiful art

had a very painterly quality to it last issue

actually incorporated a lot of different styles

because he was bitten by a snake this doesn't

have that touch but in the sense of just How

successful it was at ending this story because

this is also the final issue I thought was also

really powerful because there's also there's

such a great small moment at the end of it that

tells you so much it's just involves the picture

it's all i'll say and it helps i think resolve

a lot of the the plot constructs that came in

the first issue where you saw her kind of dealing

with a lot of mental anguish and she's just seemed

like a lost individual And what I think you see

by the end is where that could lead to. I don't

want to spoil anything, just say that it has

a very distinct resolution, both internally and

externally. So, a book I'd highly advise checking

from Magnetic Press. It's hard to probably get

a physical copy. but it is available on ComiXology

Unlimited and by United Press, you know, it just

takes a lot of foreign comics or non -English

-speaking comics and translates them and they've

been doing a fantastic job of finding great comics

to shine a light on. Now this may be one of my

favorites that I should put out this year. Number

one for me for this week is Bitter Root number

15 and it might sound weird since this is a book

that actually has won Eisner's and been nominated

for Eisner's but I don't think we appreciate

just how great this series is nearly enough.

I don't think we talk about it nearly enough.

I don't know why that is, but it's supremely

underappreciated, I think, in the comic book

world. And it's this unique story that takes

place in the 1920s Harlem, where you have this

family that fights off these, you know, different

monster creatures. And this series, Arhex actually

seen them kind of go back in time between different

timelines. This brings everything to a head is

actually the 15th issue is that kind of the finale

of these? This entire story that's been building

since issue one so not necessarily a great point

to jump on this This apparently based upon the

is not the end of bitteru, but this is the end

of this specific story And it's actually really

surprised where it went to at the end So I don't

know what the future is going to be like we have

these same characters will be a different timeline

I'm not sure, but you know, this was a week where

there was a lot of books that had an emotional

wallop for one reason or another, but none came

close to Bitter Root, and it wasn't because of

a certain character death or character living

or anything like that. It was the message, and

I think this has a very important message that

is... vital for our times, and with that word

bitter root, that idea of bitterness and the

toxicity that can exist within a culture and

in a world, and how exactly you fight that, and

how it can't be fought with anger, and it can't

be fought necessarily with violence. But how

do you cure something like that? And you know,

they're fighting basically these evil trees,

which may not seem like the most exciting things,

but it's what it means and what it's trying to

represent. And it also was a fantastic art by

Sanford Green. I read some comics and you see

so much space not being used. That is never the

case with Bitter Root. Every inch of every page

is utilized in some way. There's so much color

on the page and it also like utilizes a lot of

textures. I will see like ink splashes on the

page that just give it so much life And it's

just I love his designs his characters to me.

You just see the character and you have an idea

of the personality right away It's great at that

There's there's so much unique art style within

this series and some of the best comics that

will be published right now either image and

in general I do think Bitter Root needs to be

in that conversation as one of the best. I don't

know when it's coming back. I'll be waiting with

baited path to see it return. Like I said, if

it were to end here, I think it would be fine,

because it is a fitting ending. I don't expect

this to be my favorite book of the week, but

it was one of those things. But by the end of

it, it was an easy choice for me. But you know,

I was curious though, what are your favorite

books of the week? What did you read? Let me

know in the comment section below. I know that

there are a ton of different comic book channels

out there, so I appreciate any of you, any like,

any comment. Thank you for any of that. Just

remember that comics are for everyone. The key

is finding a right one. Until next time, keep

reading.