Here at POTW we make the tough decision of what to buy if you only had money for ONE book coming out that week… this is easily the best book coming out any given Wednesday…deal with it.
It was hard for me to actually come to terms with this week’s POTW. Looking over the list, I was very excited for the second issue of Sam Kieth and Steve Niles’ 30 Days of Night. While it may be my favorite, I do feel biased because anything Sam Kieth automatically takes the cake in my book. So after re-evaluating the list with a conscious effort to avoid bias or redundancy, I realized I had three titles that were potential picks. Green Lantern #3, Batman and Robin #3, and New Avengers #18 were all shaping up to be solid reads.
The deciding factor came down to Mike Deodato Jr. Don’t get me wrong, the other artists are solid storytellers. There is just something about Deodato’s work that gets me fired up when I open one of his books. His art is realistic without being stiff. His panel layouts are always pushing the boundaries of storytelling. Most of the titles he works on come out on time. I was just more excited to see his art than the other two. And while Deodato is an excellent storyteller, his collaborator, Brian Bendis makes him step up his game. Bendis often uses two page spreads in a lot of his books. While a lot of artists go for standard panel layouts, Deodato makes sure that he utilizes each one as a chance to shine.
This is easily my favorite Avengers book written by Bendis. His dialog between Luke Cage and Jessica Jones is always entertaining, and the fact that Daredevil has been added to the team makes this a must read for me. Bendis does great with grounded characters and this is his more grounded Avengers team. Right now they’re fighting Hydra, AIM, and HAMMER who have all united under Norman Osborn. Of course Norman Osborn is crazy, so he’s pulling out all the stops to take down the Avengers. This story arc has been quite intriguing thus far and I am excited to see where Bendis and Deodato take it.
