Yesterday resulted in a severe bank breaking visit to my local comic shop, the esteemed Graham Cracker’s Comics of Chicago (who happen to come up 3rd on Google when you search ‘comic books’ btw!). I had not set foot in the store since early December so to say my appetite was voracious was an understatement. I have a steady stream of books that get pulled but I sought out some new titles to accent the already colorful stack. As many readers know, we are a critical bunch but its also our peers’ opinions that help fuel our own about what constitutes a good book. I have put great stock in the recommendations of both Shane and Nick at the Lincoln Park store and must admit half this list exists because of them.

Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: Battle of Jericho Hill

First up is one of my favorite ongoing “mini-series” and for the life of me I hate that I can’t wait for the hardcover versions of each installment to release. I am speaking of the seemingly endless Dark Tower series based on the half-ton tome by Stephen King. For years, writers Peter David and King’s archivist Robin Furth have created one of the more compelling mythologies along with the incredibly nuanced work of Jae Lee and Richard Isanove. Right now, the series is midway through the Battle of Jericho Hill, which marks the triumphant return of Jae Lee (whose meticulous pace has sometimes crippled the release schedule of the book in the past) . Since the Gunslinger Reborn, this series has been nothing short of a work of art, with appendixes and sketchbooks in the back of nearly every (too short) issue. The lore of Gilead and the sons of Gunslingers is teeming with sinister magic, love and betrayal and moral choices at every turn that you’d think King was writing it himself. In fact, all of these stories stand alone from the novels but are born from his story bible by Ms. Robin Furth and then approved by King. The result is pure visual poetry.

As if one Stephen King book weren’t enough, there is the other epic adaptation of the ultimate apocalypse odyssey: The Stand: Soul Survivors is the third itteration in the maxi series format (again likely in order to fend off shipping deadlines). Having read the 1,100+ page opus, its so satisfying to see wunderkind artist Mike Perkins make all the locations and characters come to life as they were described with an unsettling accuracy. The journey of Larry Underwood, Franny, Mother Abagail and the others to face off with the ever-evil Randall Flagg is one worth taking in either format, but to see it without Gary Sinese chewing up the scenery makes it all the better.

As I stated above, Marvel is certainly making good decisions with its literary adaptations. Adding to that roster is The Marvelous Land of Oz. Right off the heels of the NY Times best-selling “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (now available in hardcover), the aimless quest of Tip, Jack Pumpkinhead, the Animated Saw-Horse is the best all-ages fun in comics today. Every page jumps to life with whimsical art and crisp dialogue. The Marvelous Land of Oz is based on Baum’s second book, which never featured Dorothy, yet keeps the Tin Man and Scarecrow and a few other familar faces in the mix. Oz is written by Eric Shanower (who us vets remember as the incredible artist of The Elsewhere Prince maxi-series based on the strip by Moebius) and is fleshed out by the incredibly talented and stylized Skottie Young. It is a book that must been seen to be believed. If you have any sort of affection for the Wizard of Oz, Baum’s books or even the sinister Return to Oz, this is for you.

And now for something completely different:  When I walked into the store yesterday and asked Nick and Shane what was getting their blood running, they pointed me to the back wall to pick up both trade paperback volumes of Mark Waid and Peter Krause’s Irredeemable. I nearly only bought the first one and am now extremely grateful that I had a second trade to pound through. Waid has proven time and time again that he is deserving of those Eisner Awards on his desk and the tale of the vengeful Plutonian is possibly his best work to date. This vicious, dark and extremely violent book from Boom! Studios gives any of Alan Moore’s  dysfunctional super hero work a run for its money. What happens when an invincible super hero is done being a hero and decides he can do whatever he wants? He keeps you reading. By far my favorite book in a loooong time. You might as well pick these up and wait for Vol. 3 because it has completely disappeared off the shelves.

Until the next pull!  (In which I take on SIEGE, The New Avengers, Blackest Night one shots and why Ulitmate Comics Spider-Man Vol. 2 might be the best Webhead/ X-men book ever…)

Writer: Robert Kirkman

Artist: Charlie Adlard

It almost numbs me to think that Kirkman’s incredible Zombie/Humanity tale is fast approaching 100 issues. Sure, shipping times and shortened issues have plagued the series in the beginning but for the last year it has been on time and delivered the goods in every issue. #69 keeps the heads rolling.

The story so far: From day one Rick and his band of survivors have had their hands (or in Rick’s case hand) full from the get go. Trust has been an elusive commodity to the group but the core has remained intact. With Carl’s euthanasia kill confession to Rick and Eugene’s outing as a big fat liar just a few issues ago, it seemed the group had finally come to terms with their internal struggles. Then of course, smiley faced Aaron walks up unarmed and asks them to audition for his community in the nation’s capital. #68 had the group fighting waves of zombies (finally!) and then by #69 they are on the doorstep of Washingon D.C. Only problem is- getting in ain’t easy and Rick and the crew are still leary of Aaron and his promise of Utopia.

This is the first foray the group has had in a major metropolitan area in the series and the stakes are obviously high for them and the readers. The city is choked with roamers and biters and as they attempt to circumnavigate the city to Alexandria, a signal flare goes off. Its safe to say that readers will sympathize with Rick’s apprehension to the flare given the sudden appearance of Aaron and Eric, who have admitted their lengthy surveillance on the group already. But Mr. Kirkman is masterful in twisting our preconceived notions of every character in the book (The governor, hello?) and its refreshing to see him infer that good people might still exist in this upside-down corpse ridden wold.

Its also nice to see a return to form when it comes to break-neck paced action and violence. Technically, Mr. Adlard’s work is really dense now, with real settings serving as the background instead of barren forests and the amount of high-octane action results in some of his most striking and violent panels to date. I’ve always loved the art of the book but this one stands out as one of the most dramatic issues I can remember. The rescue mission that Aaron and Rick undertake not only results in a massive zombie body count, but some realistic concerns with a severely broken leg of one of Aaron’s teammates. Until now, the survivors have not had any proper medical care; To discover the D.C. community has 3 doctors, including a surgeon, feels like a huge pot of gold at the end of their shit-colored rainbow. Kirkman knows its the little things in life that make the difference in this book,  and peppers them about- whether its a Twinkie or a silent smile on Rick’s face. Dare I say it, Mr. Kirkman seems to be suggesting that there might be hope after all. The question is: For how long?