Welcome to the Honor Roll for August 10, 2012! The Honor Roll is a shout out to five books I’ve read this week that I enjoyed that are new, old-ish, straight up old, and everything in between. With that, on to the books!
THE MASSIVE #3 by Brian Wood & Kristian Donaldson: This book is freaking fantastic. It is one of the first things I read every week it gets released and I have re-read every issue more times than I can keep track of. Issue #3 is just as strong and this series is exceptionally engrossing. I don’t just want to know everything about the cataclysm…I *must* know about the cataclysm. I am literally ravenous about this book and Wood has got me hook, line and sinker. Along with the cataclysm and environment of the book, I very much liked the additional history of the characters in #3. We’re getting to know the history of these characters very slowly, but with each crumb of information they become more compelling. Donaldson’s art is solid and just as good as it has been all along and I cannot recommend this book enough. Read. This. Book.
HOAX HUNTERS #2 by Michael Moreci, Steve Seeley & Axel Medellin: This book is a riot. It’s like reality TV meets horror meets some really zany and funny stuff. Moreci and Seeley have a great style here making the book feel just like a campy TV show and at the same time a really creepy horror show with some pretty gnarly stuff in it. If I had to compare this to another book, the first one that comes to mind in a ‘fun factor’ is Skullkickers. The subject matter is not at all the same, but the vibe of ‘fun comics’ comes through just the same. Horror fans, definitely check this one out – strong writing, fantastic art from Axel Medellin, and the freakiest damn astronaut ever.
HAWKEYE #1 by Matt Fraction & David Aja: Welcome back, Immortal Iron Fist…wait…Hawkeye! Immortal Iron Fist is one of my favourite superhero series ever, so seeing the creative team get back together had me hooked months ago. Thankfully, the book stands up and while I do agree with Keith Callbeck that Hawkeye has, in a sense, become Bullseye, all-in-all I enjoyed the book. This comic is easily accessible to new readers and looks to be standing alone in its own little corner of the Marvel U for now and I hope it stays there for awhile. Fraction and Aja’s take can stay as is as long as it likes if this book stays at the high quality of issue #1. Can’t wait for Kate Bishop…
HYPERNATURALS #2 by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Brad Walker & Tom Derenick: I enjoyed DnA’s Marvel cosmic run a lot and reading Hypernaturals is like a step back into that world in style, but with the excitement of a world where anything could happen. DnA have said ‘expect the unexpected’ and reading them work in a universe that is completely their own is an exciting adventure. Walker & Derenick’s art is fantastic and issue #2 looks a lot more polished and consistent to me. I am in full-force to this story and I want to read more. Simple enough.
STAR WARS LEGACY VOLUME 2: SHARDS by John Ostrander et al: Yes, I’m several years late on these trades, but nevertheless I’m digging them. I am a huge fan of the Star Wars universe and it has been great to see some stories not focused on Luke and the gang. This is new stories in familiar places for me and Ostrander does a good job of combining the old world and the new into an exciting mix that is a riot. I’m definitely going to be snagging volume 3 and probably the rest of this series and it is really getting me back into Star Wars books.
