Before we get to the nominations, let’s talk some Morning Glories, as MORNING GLORIES #14 shipped this week. When the first issue of Morning Glories came out, it was much hyped and many of you read it. Not as many of you still read it. I have read it all in single-issue form, I tend to enjoy it and something of interest happens in every issue. The dialogue is good, the art is good, and I just like the storytelling style in general. Unfortunately, I also tend to be a little confused. Figuring out who was who and what was what has always a challenge from issue to issue.

So, when the second Morning Glories trade paperback came out a month or two ago I vowed to reread. And upon that reread, all became clear. It’s actually a pretty dang good story! Still don’t think it’s a very good 22-page comic, though. In order for a monthly to be successful, you do have to be able to read individual issues a month apart and be able to follow the flow of the story. So, I’m not recommending reading it in single-issue format. But I totally recommend reading the trades. The story centers around a group of students who arrive at a very bizarre boarding school. They basically end up prisoners, cut off from the rest of the world, and weird things immediately start to happen. You never really know what’s gonna happen next and I am continually surprised where the story goes. Read it up! In trades…Nominees!

AVENGERS #19 – Opened with an investigation by Daisy Johnson, one of Nick Fury’s butterflies in Secret Warriors, into Norman Osborn’s escape from the Raft and an interrogation of John Walker, the warden of the Raft, who has been prominently featured in the Thunderbolts. Which I loved because if any book and any writer should be showcasing the Marvel Universe as a whole, it’s the Avengers and Brian Michael Bendis. It did quickly move into the main story. Who will be on the new Avengers team? The Storm pick seemed odd, but very happy to see the Vision back. And the interaction between Hawkeye and Spider-Woman was great once again.

AVENGERS ACADEMY #22 – Issue #21 brought a new direction to Avengers Academy as the Academy moved to the West Coast and the lineup was reshuffled a bit. Always been a solid title, did think this issue was a bit of a surprise. A Magneto-Quicksilver discussion took up a good chunk of the book. Terrigon Mists, Wanda, No More Mutants, etc, all got mentioned. And that is an ongoing storyline in which I have a high interest, so I enjoyed it a lot.

BATMAN #3 – I always think of Scott Snyder as an action-oriented writer. Dick Grayson was rock-n-roll Batman. This issue was super plot heavy. Very dense. And of course very good.

BOYS BUTCHER BAKER CANDLESTICKMAKER #5 – What a great mini-series this is turning out to be. It’s all back story on why Butcher originally joined the Boys. This issue was fantastic. Couple of surprises. And watching Butcher read his dead wife’s diary (basically three pages of text) was actually riveting.

FEAR ITSELF #7 POINT THREE IRON MAN – Loved the hammered up Grey Gargoyle turning Paris and its population to stone during Fear Itself and this was all about the aftermath of that… and was equally good. Plus, the Odin-Tony Stark pages were awesome. Odin is a god and Tony is a putz! And I must add: all three of the Fear Itself "point" issues — #7.1 Captain America, #7.2 Thor and now #7.3 Iron Man — were fantastic. Kudos to Marvel.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #3 – Enter Wonder Woman. She was great! Cyborg got his armor. Darkseid made an appearance. And Aquaman showed up on the last page. Loved it again!

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #3 – Personal favorite! The one liners are great. The 4000-year-old “kid” was great. The snow globe was great. Liked the flashbacks for Starfire and Roy. Liked the monster. Liked the pace. Liked the action. I just enjoy reading it!

SUPERGIRL #3 –  Over DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS DEADMAN #3, which has been good since the jump, and BIRDS OF PREY #3, which is improving with every issue. I think all three deserve nominations, but seeing Supergirl continue to learn her powers and adapt to being on Earth (she still doesn’t even understand English) was excellent. Send in the Brain!

WALKING DEAD #91 – That’s three issues in six weeks! Happy, happy. Volume 15 will be out in early December. It contains issues #85-90. So if you’re looking to switch to singles, this week’s issue is a great place to do so. And you really need to read this week’s issue because… nothing happened! Now, now Rusty. You said that two weeks ago. Something always happens in the Walking Dead. They talked about canned foods. Sophia talked about her new (and old) Mom and Dad. Carl told Rick he’s clueless. Again. And Andrea did not talk to a hat! Might be subtle happenings, but things always happen. We are just in a calm period in the story right now. Although the last page of this issue might have foreshadowed a pace pickup.

Letters page! Nelson from Texas writes in. “I would love nothing more than to see issue 101 start with the words TEN YEARS LATER and feature Carl looking all bad ass, grim and well seasoned from a life of early childhood development in zombie hell.” Although the very idea of a ten year jump was quickly shot down by Sina, you’re preaching to the choir Nelson. About a year ago I was vigorously advocating a 10-year jump. Although I’m not so sure anymore. If they are just going to leave the town and go back to traveling the road, I’d much rather have a 10-year jump. If they actually can build up the town, make it sustainable, grow a community and widen the scale, which is what makes the canned food/better start farming discussion interesting, I’m okay with that. I do think we are building to issue #100 and we’ll have to see what happens from there.

See ya!

Rusty