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Daytripper #8!!!

Seriously, go track this issue down, read it, then take a bath in the tears that will pool around your emotionally weakened body after you finish it. Best single issue of a comic I've read this year.

Immortal Iron Fist: The Seven Capitol Cities of Heaven

Published by Marvel (making it a wait for the trade book for me) Iron Fist is a weird little book. It contains elements of Kung Fu cinema tossed into a blender alongside Shakespearean characterization, with a dash of pulp thrown in for good measure. It's a bizarre concoction and one that, while not always striking the right note, manages to be engaging and fun most of the time.

As in the last arc the bulk of the story is building up to a large scale confrontation that errupts on the page like one of Fat Cobra's special moves. Unfortunately, this time the art is a hodge podge mass of artists struggling to maintain the dynamic look that David Aja has established and sadly, most of them just can't pull it off. Aja is present here, early on, but, by the end of the book he is all but extinct. Visually, in comparison with the first arc, this one is a drastic decline.

Thankfully Brubaker and Fraction chopsocky their way through this epic story of a Kung Fu-like tournament gone horribly awry. It sounds like a simple story premise but thankfully the writers take it in directions wholly unexpected and leave us twisting and turning trying to figure out just where this thing is going. There are tons of characters involved in this story and Brufrac handle them all superbly.

Though in comparison to the first book, this one may not stand up as well on the visual side, it more than makes up for it with (here's that word again) epic story, and fascinating character arcs. Not to mention the best new character this year, Fat Cobra.

JLA: Earth 2

Grant Morrison is plugging away on Batman and Final Crisis right now, but you can catch an earlier dose of his particular brand of insanity with this little graphic novel. I've owned it for at least three years but, for some reason I just finally got around to reading it this past weekend. Of course I'm probably just coming across as someone really really late to a party, none the less, this is a fantastic and fun read. Frank Quitely's art is quirky and eye catching as usual and Morrison seemed to have had a ball writing the mirror versions of the JLA.

If you haven't already, run out and track a copy of this book down.

Silver Surfer: Reqiuem

I just read this book in one sitting last night and wanted to write up something about it. Requiem is a wonderful little mini and even though I have next to no knowledge of the Surfer I adored it. Esad Ribic did a great job yet again and I'm glad I've been following this guy since the Loki mini. His paintings continue to impress and he seems to be growing as a sequential storyteller. Unlike Loki however, this one has a fascinating story and resonates emotionally thanks to J. Michael Stracszynski's writing. This is sort of a What If? story about the Surfer's last days and it hits you like an aluminum bat to the back of the head. Consider me a fan.