1) Dark Knights of Steel: Tales from the Three Kingdoms, written by Tom Taylor, Jay Kristoff, C.S. Pacat, art by Michele Bandini, Sean Izaakse, Caspar Wijngaard
To be blunt, the cover art put me off a bit, as I thought this was going to be tales about infant Batman and friends during the time of Dark Knights of Steel. Instead it's when they are young adults, around 13-17ish, which is a LOT better. This issue comes with three stories from three creative teams, and they all stand out. Taylor's story deals with Batman's rogues gallery in a dark and creative way, Kristoff's story is a little more light hearted, and Pacat's is probably my favorite of the three, as it introduced Bane's DKoS character, The King's Bane, and he is awesome! Props to Michele Bandini for making him look so incredible! If you like the Dark Knights of Steel series then this is 100% for you, as it builds on the lore and each story holds its own, a unique feat for three creative teams in one book. Dark Knights of Steel is an excellent series on it's own, and worth a read!
2) Moon Knight #15 - Written by Jed Mackay, art by Alessandro Cappuccio, colors by Rachelle Rosenberg
I'm a broken record, but Mackay's run of Moon Knight is a must read. It's exciting, and features way under utilized villains from Marvel's history. The last issue saw Marc confronting his D.I.D and agreeing to work with each of his personas to act as one balanced Moon Knight. This issue shows the strengths of Marc, Jake, and Steven, as each does what they do best in order to help track down and defeat the current vampire threat. The art from Cappuccio is wonderful, he really draws Moon Knight is a captivating way, and it's hard to use white as expertly as Rachelle Rosenberg does. This is a STRONG creative team with an incredible superhero, it's a must read right now.
3) Ghost Rider #6 - Written by Benjamin Percy, art by Brent Peeples (incredible name), colors by Bryan Valenza
Marvel has another strong creative team in Ghost Rider. Percy's story might be lacking an overall plot (it's just a lot of Blaze going places), but man I'm ok being along with the ride. Jonny's monologue's are good, but the series definitely needed to start vrooming along, and hopefully it does now that Blaze is done with the incredibly gross parasite drawn by Peeples. And grossly inkied by Valenza. Even if the story (for Jonny at least) is just going around beating up supernatural things, it's exactly what we all want. The main event is Blaze, and this creative team delivers. And having Wolverine as a side character was an excellent choice, 'nuff said indeed.
4) Punisher #6 - Story and art by Jason Aaron, Jesus Saiz, and Paul Azaceta, colors by Dave Stewart
And ANOTHER excellent creative team. Punisher #6 continues where Aaron and company left off, pitting Frank against Ares, the God of War himself. Ares is a delight in this issue (not to Frank at least), as he lectures Frank about losing his way. The battle between Frank and Ares is excellent, and of course ends exactly as expected, but it doesn't make the fight any less wonderful to behold. This is another excellent run by a strong creative team, the art is perfect, the story is engaging, and the use of other Marvel characters like Ares is clever and believable. Punisher, Moon Knight, Ghost Rider, and Daredevil are must reads led by some of the best writers, artists, and colorists on Marvel's staff.
Which issue was your favorite this week?
- Tales from the Three Kingdoms
- Moon Knight #15
- Ghost Rider #6
- Punisher #6