Led by a myriad of Batman titles, and even without the Justice League, DC easily wins this week. Gonna get five nominations from me today, in addition to two more that wouldn’t quite fit. Plus, we got a nice ending to the Deadman arc in DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #5. And the best portrayal of Lord Poseidon I have ever seen in WONDER WOMAN #5. Thought is was surprising, hilarious and fitting. Kudos all around.

Marvel does get Best Cover of the Week. FEAR ITSELF FEARLESS #7. Andy picked it yesterday. Needs another shout out. Crossbones vs. Wolverine! Nothing fancy about it. Just pure comic book goodness. And the Fearless is nothing if not a “comic” book. It makes no pretenses otherwise. Good guys fighting bad guys with the fate of the world in the balance. Everyone was in this issue: Valkyrie, Captain America, Dr. Strange, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Sin, Hellstorm. And of course Crossbones and Wolverine. Quite the fight. BLAM! SLLASH! RRRAAGH! And a sweet super glue line!

Nominees!

BATMAN #5 – Where, oh where has our Batman gone. Where, oh where can he be. With his water so drugged and his hallucinations so vivid. Where, oh where can he be? Lost in a maze! Stabbed in the back! Loved the art. The full page sideways spreads were awesome. Not so sure about the upside down pages. Thought they might be a misprint. Still not convinced otherwise. If it wasn’t an error, it was weird, and didn’t quite work. Still a great book.

CATWOMAN #5 – Over the equally worthy NIGHTWING #5 and BIRDS OF PREY #5 this week. Enjoyed them all. But nobody wields a whip like Catwoman! At the end of last issue Catwoman had been flung up into the sky. And I mean flung up into the sky. “Tossed me into orbit” and “Nearly half a mile up into the air” are direct quotes. Never fear! Catwoman can fly! No, no, no. Don’t be silly. She can whip onto a big, fat, beautifully exposed girder and SWAAAK pop her shoulder out of its socket as OW! OW! OW! OW! she hits the pavement! Never fear! She pops her shoulder back in, kicks the crap out of her adversary, and makes off with the cash. Oh no! It’s not some drug lord’s measly $10,000, it’s dirty cop money stolen from the evidence room after an armed car robbery. $425,000! What’s a girl to do? Why get a massage of course. Her shoulder is killing her! Oh no! Here comes the fuzz! Think every squad car in Gotham, and possibly North America, was in on the bust. And Catwoman! You are under arrest! Say hello to Red Crow when you see him.

CHEW #23 – Featuring Agent Buttercup. He’s a lion. And he was hilarious. Great facial expressions. Cover said, Rob Guillory – Best Non-Super Hero Artist 2011 – USA Today. Deservedly so. Love the writing in Chew, the art is equally excellent. Agent Colby is stuck working at the USDA with another not so nice boss. But it was déjà vu all over again as he woos her much like he did his last boss. And Agent Chu? Why he’s been kidnapped and forced to make up strange sexcapades of former baseball players. Chew! Awesome as usual. Bat to the head!

COBRA ONGOING #9 – Dilemmas, dilemmas. Hmmm. Did like it. Really like the new Cobra Commander’s elaborate plan of what to do with the occupied country of Nanzad. Burning the poppy fields. Killing his rebel allies. Ordering a mass exodus out of the country. And it looks like he’s going to “blow up” the country, if that’s even possible. He did collect all the gold and items of value in the country and I don’t think he has any interest in remaining in Nanzad long term. Very curious to see what happens next. Was a little disappointed though. It just wasn’t very Cobra-y.

DAREDEVIL #8 – Part two of the Spider-Man/Daredevil crossover. Last week was huge and I wasn’t quite able to officially nominate AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #677. And while that issue was probably a little better, Daredevil #8 does squeak in at #10 this week. Officially or not. Squeak or not. Well worth reading and a nice two-part story. Plus, you know, Daredevil was making out with the Black Cat. And while Catwoman wields a mean whip, Daredevil wields a mean billy club. That was some helicopter maneuver. Turned his billy club into a whirling doohickey of destruction! Knocked all the bad guys out cold.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #5 – Was a great issue. So well laid out and chock full of action and explanations. Guy Gardner is recruiting for war! Hooks up with the toughest Green Lanterns of all, the Mean Machine. Picked up some evil Yellow Lanterns. Robbed a space pirate ship for armaments. And the double page spread featuring the plot synopsis/back story was fantastic. Really well done.

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #5 – Yes. Again. Why? Because the plot continues to build. There is a huge conflict brewing between the “Untitled” and the “All-Caste” with the Red Hood, Kori, and Arsenal stuck smack dab in the middle. Not to mention actions scenes, back story, and maybe, just maybe, an inkling of some character development.

SUPERGIRL #5 – Supergirl is looking for answers about her past. Her red crystal leads her to the abandoned and misplaced Kryptonian city of Argo. Where, with the help of said red crystal, her Dad was able answer some of her questions about what happened to the planet Krypton. Also introduced us to Reign. She’s a Worldkiller. She also has questions about her heritage that only Kryptonians can answer. Sounds like the perfect match. Unless they kill each other first!

SUPERIOR #7 (OF 7) – Ended great. Not a surprising ending. But great nonetheless. Was a happy ending. And I must say, Mark Millar has written many, many books I have thoroughly enjoyed. Wanted. Civil War. Kick-Ass. The Ultimates. Nemesis.  And our favorite Whiz Bang of them all, Wolverine Enemy of the State. He’s written plenty of good books. Think Superior could be the best one yet.

UNCANNY X-MEN #5 – Thought I was done with the Age of Archangel! What’s it doing here?! First page began with, "Yesterday there was a nuclear blast in Montana." (Which happened in Uncanny X-Force #14! Thank you, editors note. We do like those.)  Followed by a sphere being constructed over said exploded town. And that sphere collapsing five hours ago! Couldn’t believe they went there. But. I loved it. Especially loved that they time-lined it. And once again Kieron Gillen takes events that have happened elsewhere in the Marvel Universe and weaves them perfectly into his own story. Just great. Issue did feature a lot of setup. Just chapter one. The X-Men do go to investigate the phenomenon. Strange things happen. Betsy lies. Magneto knows. And what looked a lot like War Machine, but I can’t imagine it actually is, showed up on the last page.

And my pick for Best Book of the Week? C’mon. It’s an easy one this week. CHEW #23!

See ya!

Rusty