And don't even get me started on my less-than-healthy obsession with Depeche Mode. So, like I said, what are your obsessions? Think about that, read the column, then get back to me on the message boards. For now, it's time to see What Looks Good...  HERO SQUARED ONGOING #3 $3.99 (Keith Giffen & J.M DeMatteis / Joe Abraham)Again, I run the risk of sounding like a broken record, but as much as I enjoy the hilarity and absurdity within the pages of Hero Squared the thing that I enjoy the most about the title is the human drama. Milo has messed up, and bad, and he knows it. However, it's frustrating to him and the reader to watch him deal with his own actions, actions that resulted in him ruining his relationship with Stephie. Also, for his all-powerful attitude Captain Valor still has a lot to learn about being a person, as well as considering how others, like Milo, might feel. Then, of course, there are the scorned women: Stephie and Caliginous. Yes, this is a comic book and there are many humorous elements, but that doesn't mean that it can't be touching at times too. Boom! Studios has been kicked out some good books lately, but for me this is the cream of the crop. Good stuff.  MANIFEST ETERNITY #4 $2.99 (Scott Lobdell / Dustin Nguyen)Rest in peace, Manifest Eternity, your time on this planet was far too short. I realize that I'm easily swayed by Dustin Nguyen's artwork, but I have to admit that as strange as this title was I really liked it and wanted it to succeed. Sadly, this won't be the case, as the title is done as of issue #6. So, another WildStorm title that I was collecting is gone. Sure, there's some hope as some of my favorite titles, like Wildcats, The Authority, and StormWatch are coming back in a form, but as I said, this title was definitely something different, and for me, special. Why do I, and more importantly, why should you like it so much? For one thing, it's not your normal comic book. It's not a fantasy book and it's not a science fiction saga, it's neither and yet it is both. Imagine the world that you know right now, and then jump forward into the future as you imagine high-tech gadgets and spaceships. Now imagine a realm of trolls, dragons, and faeries. Suppose that future world of science and technology threatened that place of spells and magic, what would happen? What if a war erupted between the two world? That's the premise of this title and I enjoyed it. Also, its artwork really pushed the envelope as Nguyen used various forms of media in order to create the art on each and every page. It's wild stuff and I'm sorry that it didn't last longer. That said, I am still picking up and drooling over each issue. Sure it will be gone soon, but I can enjoy what little time we have left together.  Y THE LAST MAN #49 (MR) $2.99 (Brian K. Vaughan / Pia Guerra)What is it with books that I enjoy ending? OK, so maybe I'm freaking out a little bit too much as this title isn't yet done, though this issue is the first of the last year of Y: The Last Man, so though the funeral march had yet to start at the very least the casket is being picked out. As a fan, there's a certain amount of appreciation knowing that a title has a finite ending. Let's face it, Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man will be around forever, and maybe that is the way it should be some some characters, but for other characters and other books it is probably best that there is a beginning, a middle, and an end. I'm positive that Vaughan and Guerra could milk this cow for years yet as Yorick continues to find himself in one harrowing situation after another, but unlike some of those other iconic titles and characters I think that the creative team has been trying to make a point, a statement, on short, a finite ending. On the one hand it is cool that a book is going to start and then end when the story is over, but once you've become a fan engrossed in that story it makes it all the more difficult to let go once the story has been concluded. Fir example, I didn't want to see Midnight Nation end, but in the end it had to, and it made the story that much more poignant. Besides, just because story is over doesn't mean that one can't go back and read it again, right? So why am I excited most about this issue this month? Well, for one thing Dr. Mann is on her way to China to see if she can finally isolate the root cause of the plague that killed all of the world's males so quickly. Meanwhile, Yorick is trying to hunt down the woman he loves, Beth. For the longest time I wondered if Beth was even actually alive, then Vaughan threw out that teaser issue that showed her surviving in the Australian outback. Once you knew she was alive it was obvious that Yorick was going to continue looking for her, otherwise, why bother showing us that she was still around? Essentially what we have here is a race against the clock as this final year wraps up, and though I hate to see this title go the adrenaline rush from the coming issues should easily assuage my lamentations. I've said it before and I'll say it again: this is one of the best comics ever put out.  PUNISHER #37 (MR) $2.99 (Garth Ennis / Leo Fernandez)I thoroughly loved the last arc as once again Ennis has proved himself to be one of the best writers to have ever handled the Punisher. The fact that this is just another issue written by him at this point would be enough for me to get geeked about this book. That said, this issue features the return of someone that Frank took on earlier, someone that he encountered in Mother Russia that would be all too happy to have his revenge on Marvel's well-known vigilante. Barring the fact that the Punisher has always been one of my favorite characters I think it is safe to say that this has been one of the most consistently good books for years now, thanks in now small part to Ennis's writing. Thank you, Mr. Ennis, thank you. Was there something that did it for you this week? If so, stop by the What Looks Good message boards (see link below) and spread the love, my friend. Also, while you're there, take a moment to consider your own obsessions, and then share them with the masses. Are you a trekkie/trekker? Do you drool over BSG or Stargate? Do Beanie Babies do it for you (do they?)? If so, I'd like to hear about what other obsessions you have; we might just have some in common. Until then, Peace! -Diaz |
