There were crossovers galore in May keeping comics nice and busy throughout the jammed month. Several issues of huge series launched from each of the Big Two making it seem like a particularly busy month for comics. We saw Marvel’s never-ending stream of first issues with “All-New Guardians of the Galaxy”, “Black Bolt”, “Generation X”, “I am Groot”, “Rocket Raccoon” and more. DC had a couple of fun debuts as well with “Forager: The Adventures of Bug” and a couple of annuals with “Trinity” and other books to close out the month…and a couple crossovers INSTRUMENTAL to the line! There are a ton of series that were competing for your dollars in May–I hope you put your money where your mouth was.
Best Writer: James Roberts
There’s nothing like good planning coming together. It took quite a while for “Transformers: Lost Light” to get into gear. So much of the new aspects of the series had to be reestablished and then the series introduced an alternate world to only further complicated the narrative. Thankfully, Roberts began to focus in on some of the bigger mysteries of the comic and converge a great deal of storylines here. This story finally figured out how to utilize the other cast members and was able to push each storyline into greatness. After the book closed out a thrilling mystery and delivered on an intense cliffhanger featuring Rung (the best dang Transformer ever) I was just glad to be along for the ride.
Best Artist: Aaron Kuder
If you were busy catching up on DC titles this week, you might not have noticed that Aaron Kuder was busy drawing the most insane layouts the Guardians of the Galaxy have ever seen. The artist has always brought something a little different to the table, but his proportions and compositions have never been so imaginative. Bringing the artist to The Collector’s treasure chest of oddities was the greatest gift that Gerry Duggan could have given to both the readers and Kuder himself. Don’t believe me? Take a gander at the issue #2 cover and try to spot all of the Easter eggs in the background. If you’re looking for something experimental in the school of Steranko but entirely still readable, flip through this gem.
Best Red Herring: “The Button” in “Batman” #21-22 and “The Flash” #21-22
You don’t want Watchmen in the DC Universe and I don’t want Watchmen in the DC Universe which was why I was shocked when DC handled “The Button” with such incredible restraint. I couldn’t help but get excited at the possibility of being angry at each installment of the crossover. To my surprise, the publisher never let the train go off the rails (or the proverbial cat out of the proverbial bag.) I got exactly what I wanted in “The Button” and even though I’ll dread “Doomsday Clock” the same way I did for this crossover, I’ll always be grateful for “The Button”.
Best First Issue: “The Sovereigns” #1
I didn’t remember that I had an affinity for Dr. Magnus and the rest of the Gold Key crew (ala Turok and Dr. Solar) but boy was I wrong. “The Sovereigns” #1 brought them all back and mixed up the pieces of each character in a really endearing manner. I didn’t expect to see some aspects of continuity rewritten and swapped around. There’s lots of new to explore with these familiar heroes in “The Sovereigns” and I hope that Ray Fawkes and Johnny Desjardins continue to deliver the goods on this book in the coming months.
Best use of Quentin Quire: “The Mighty Thor” #19
I have been beating this drum for far too long but no current ongoing at Marvel can even touch the greatness of Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman’s current Thor run. This issue in particular had one of the most life-affirming moments of the series while shaking things up with a pretty huge achievement for Omega-Level Mutant Quentin Quire. I’m not interested in giving anything away but if Quentin Quire is your man “The Mighty Thor” #19 was tailor-made for you! Quire pulled double-duty this month and showed up in “Generation X” #1 as well but didn’t stand out in those pages quite the same way, you feel me?
