Comic Pick of the Week: Batman #36

Comic pick of the week is a weekly column in which I choose my favorite new comic of the week(imagine that!). I'll also name five other new releases I enjoyed. These are spoiler-free posts designed to make you wanna run out and buy some good comics, so read on with no worries of having the entire plot blown! 

This week's pick is Batman #36, part two of the epic Endgame story arc. Batman battles the Joker-ized Superman in an epic brawl through, below, and above Gotham City. This battle is a wonderful spectacle, beautifully rendered by the art team of Greg Capullo & Danny Miki and colorist FCO Plascencia. The twist near the issue's end is one of writer Scott Snyder's finest moments to date, and will have longtime readers scrambling for their back issues to scour them for the clues that whizzed right by them the first time around. 
The backup story by James Tynion IV and Graham Nolan(always nice to see him back in the Bat-verse) is another nice alternate "origin" of the Joker, displaying how manipulative and sadistic he can be. 
This issue is a real nail-biter from cover to cover, and well worth the cover price in an era where so many comics are simply far too pricey for their own good. 

Other comics I enjoyed this week: She-Hulk #10, Spider-Verse #1, Django/Zorro #1, Superior Iron Man #1, Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini #2.

Comic Pick of the Week: Swamp Thing #36

Comic pick of the week is a weekly column in which I choose my favorite new comic of the week(imagine that!). I'll also name five other new releases I enjoyed. These are spoiler-free posts designed to make you wanna run out and buy some good comics, so read on with no worries of having the entire plot blown! 

Swamp Thing was one of the surprise hits of DC's relaunch in September 2011, guided by writer Scott Snyder for its first year and a half. Everyone was surprised when he announced he was leaving the book, and the surprise only grew when his replacement was named: Charles Soule. The collective reaction was "Who?" It's funny to recall that now, as Soule has become ubiquitous in the comic industry, writing enough comics on a monthly basis to carry the entire lineup of a small publisher. I've enjoyed pretty much everything he's worked on in that time, from the sci-fi series Letter 44, which far more of you need to be reading, to team books featuring a roster of characters I've never cared about such as Thunderbolts. In a strong body of work, Swamp Thing has remained the crown jewel. It honestly gets better every single month, and this issue is simply wonderful from cover to cover. Reeling from recent events, Swamp Thing has no time to catch his metaphorical breath as he is attacked by the newly-risen Metal, an equivalent kingdom to the Red and Green composed entirely of sentient machines. Swamp Thing pays a visit to someone we haven't seen in quite a while to warn them of the rise of the machines, and the Metal realizes it needs its own avatar, and that's where things get really interesting! Jesus Saiz is just killing it on art duties, as usual. This is about as perfect a creative team as you'll find on any series out there.

I also enjoyed: Amazing Spider-Man #9(Spider-Verse begins!), Green Lantern #36(Godhead continues!), Earth 2 #28(the origins of Darkseid's Furies!), Sensation Comics #13(the conclusion to a very nice Wonder Woman two-parter), and Grayson #5(espionage action!).

Comic pick of the week: Wonder Woman #35

Welcome to the first of a series of posts that will get me back to writing about comics regularly. Longtime Rant readers will recall that I used to do weekly reviews a few years back, but the workload was too much to sustain indefinitely with everything else I had going on. I miss writing about comics on here, but my schedule hasn't lightened up at all since then. So, instead of reviewing a bunch of new comics each week, I decided I'd pick my favorite and do a short feature on it. As always, I reserve the right to take a break or bail altogether if things get too hectic, but hopefully the much lighter workload attached to this feature will allow me to do it indefinitely. the plan for now is to choose a top pick, a runner-up, and then name five other comics that stood out from the pack.

Anyway, this week's pick is Wonder Woman #35.
Brian Azzarello, along with artists Cliff Chiang, Goran Sudzuka, and Tony Akins, have consistently delivered one of the finest superhero comics available since DC's New 52 relaunch in September of 2011. This issue serves as the finale to that epic run, and it is a jaw-dropping affair from cover to cover.

The First Born has seized the throne of Olympus, ruthlessly crushing any and all resistance to his reign. Wonder Woman and her allies are caught in a desperate battle to stop him, even as other gods make their own plays for the throne in the midst of all the chaos. Some live, some die, alliances are shattered, bonds of friendship are re-forged. It's a breathless finale that will leave longtime readers howling for more from this team because it's just so damn good.

My only gripe with this issue, and this really applies to the past few issues, is that so much is crammed into its pages that it feels rather rushed. Several key moments don't get the space to breathe that they really deserve because there just isn't room. Another issue or two, or even a giant-sized finale, would have helped a great deal in this regard. All that said, this remains an astonishingly good comic, and I'm damn sorry to see this run end. My wariness of the incoming creative team only intensifies that feeling.

Runner-up: Swamp Thing Annual #3.
Any other week, this probably would have won. I actually went back and forth between the two of them. Swamp Thing has been one of DC's best series since the current volume began, and since Charles Soule took over as writer, it just seems to keep getting better every month. This issue gives us the final fate of the immortal assassin Capucine, a recently-introduced character who has become a close friend to our beloved avatar of the Green. We get several flashbacks that range from revealing to delightful, and a guest appearance by the demon Etrigan caps everything off. Plus, you get to see Swamp Thing manifest via popcorn kernels!

As Soule recently signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, his time on this book appears to be numbered. It's a damn shame, as it's been one of my favorite series for quite some time now, and whoever follows him will have a hell of a rough time maintaining the same standard of storytelling.

Other books I enjoyed this week: Groo vs. Conan #4, Inhuman #7, Southern Bastards #5, Atomic Robo and the Knights of the Golden Circle #5, Sinestro #6.