WLG #290: Suicide is a Killer!

By Ariel Carmona, Jr.

Editor's note: Michael Diaz, the regular writer of "What Looks Good," has had to step away from the column. ComicsBulletin is running a series of pilot columns from writers who we are considering for the column. First up is longtime ComicsBulletin writer Ariel Carmona Jr. Please take a moment to give Ariel some feedback on his column in our message board, and come back next week for another tyro!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and that Santa and his helpers filled your stockings with many wonderful items and a funny book here and there. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Ariel Carmona. I have contributed reviews to the site on and off since 2005 and I am a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan among other fantasy franchises.

I used to lean more towards Marvel out of the big publishers, but now I am beginning to explore other outlets.

Speaking of the good ol' House of Ideas, without further ado, let's move on to What Looks Good:

Marvel

Deadpool Team-Up #897 $3.99 (Adam Glass / Chris Staggs)

Ok so it has been official for a few months now, Deadpool is the new Spider-Man. He has three ongoing titles now and if they would still put the character's face on the corner of every comic like they did back in the day, you could venture to say it would be the Merc with the Mouth's likeness up there instead of the Webslinger's.

Personally, I was never a huge fan of Deadpool, but I did think his cameo was the most fun thing about Secret Invasion a while back. I was also intrigued by the idea of having him team up in a book with lesser known characters. That was the occasional format for the old Spidey team up book. However, this week we get a team up with the Ghost Riders which treads on more familiar territory than his previous ventures with the likes of the Zapata Brothers. Still, it's good to see various creative teams get a shot at doing Deadpool stories. This week writer Adam Glass and artist Chris Staggs step up to the plate. I'll be giving this a try for a while.


Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #6 $3.99 (Brian Michael Bendis / David LaFuente)

I gave up on Ultimate titles for a while - and on Ultimate Spider-Man specifically, not because I did not enjoy reading the titles, but because there were other titles I was more interested in. Yet, having heard so many good things about David La Fuente's artwork, it might be time to rekindle my interest in all things Ultimate Spidey.

This week may not be an ideal jumping-on point because the current arc featuring the mystery of the Shroud will be revealed, which is not exactly new-reader-friendly material if you haven't been on the Spidey bandwagon for some time. However, Mysterio is one of my all time favorite Spidey baddies.

I am still convinced that USM is the best Spidey book on the market, so I am willing to let Brian Michael Bendis sweep me up in his characterization and prose once again. Even though I am quite certain Siege #1 is going to be getting a lot of attention, I would also like to explore what Bendis is doing outside of Marvel's big events.

Dark Horse

The Goon Volume 0: Rough Stuff TPB $13.99 (Eric Powell)

I usually don't plop down much moola for trade paperbacks these day;, it has to be something I really want to take time out to devour. However, Eric Powell's The Goon is one of those comics that's worth reading in collected form because you always know you're going to get a quality read and more bang for your buck.

With the Goon I should probably change that to more monster and zombie smack for your buck.

This volume collects the Goon's early battles with the undead and we are introduced to the character's roots, while discovering what led him to become the feared and respected head of a notorious crime family.

Another engaging plus is his sidekick Frankie is still one of the oddest creations this side of Mississippi.

As I've noted in the past, the strength of this comic has always been Powell's great skill as a storyteller, one who is able to mix both humorous dialogue with visual and verbal absurdities.

This volume offers a re-mastered color edition of stories that were originally published in black and white. With a bonus expanded sketchbook section that details rare early designs of our pugilistic protagonist, what's not to love?

DC

Suicide Squad #67 $2.99 (John Ostrander / Gail Simone / J. Calafiore)

I was a bit of a "Johnny-come-lately" when it came to DC's huge 2009 event (Of course you guessed I'm referring to Blackest Night) not because I didn't think it would be good, but because time constraints and other obligations kept me away.

However, I found a free afternoon recently, got a good deal on a package of all six of the core titles published thus far and enjoyed every "zombie filled, dead character comes back to life, status quo altering" moment.

I am not sure why Dan Didio and company are still on their "let's kill every major character in the DC universe" kick, or at least that's what it seemed like to me, but when the payoff is a good story, it might just be worth it.

If I had to choose a Blackest Night tie-in this week, I would have to go with the Suicide Squad. Ever since I read the excellent mini-series Legends plotted by John Ostrander who created them, I have enjoyed many of the Squad's appearances in DC books throughout the years.

While growing up, my brother was a DC guy and I was more a Marvel freak, but occasionally I would steal away an issue or two from his stash to look at and I remember being enthralled by Legends and Suicide Squad.

Therefore, I am beyond geeked about their inclusion as part of DC's one-issue revival of classic titles.

Deadshot was a recurring character in Ostrander's revival of the series in the '80s, which focused on a group of super villains working on dangerous government missions.

Couple the revival with Deadshot as the issue's villain du jour, with him pitted against a resurrected Fiddler and featuring the Secret Six, and you have the potential for a tasty action-packed comic morsel.

On this issue, Ostrander collaborates with Gail Simone on prose and artwork is provided by J. Calafiore. I'll take this one to go.

Image
Image United #2 $3.99 (Robert Kirkman / Erik Larsen / Todd McFarlane / Whilce Portacio / Marc Silvestri / Jim Valentino)

I have to admit, I immensely enjoyed the first issue of Image United #1. It wasn't an earth shattering event, or a water shed moment in the industry, but it did remind me of the old days when Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, Jim Valentino, Erik Larsen and the other Image Comics founders shocked Marvel and the world by striking a blow for independent comic book creators back in the '90s.

Somehow I missed the release of issue #2 over Christmas break, but Image is giving fans another bite at the apple this week with an additional variant cover by Greg Capullo.

That same sense of whimsy and pioneering spirit that permeated those early Image titles may not be completely back here, as these artists have settled into their creative niches, but it is great fun to see characters like Spawn and others being drawn by the original creators.

Also, Robert Kirkman is the company's premier writer and it's good to see him tackle projects other than his pet books like Invincible and The Walking Dead.

The coloring of Nick Koutsis and Mike Torris only enhanced the splash pages and the greater-than life panels the artists were aiming for in the initial issue - so if the follow up is only half as good, it will still be worth getting.

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Well boys and girls, that's just a sampling of some of the books that I'm jazzed about this week. I look forward to sharing with you other tantalizing offerings in upcoming weeks as we move further into the new year.

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