Best of 2013 Part 2c: Monthly Comics

A few days ago I did my best of 2013 list for the books I had read in the second half of the year. In a departure from previous such lists I divided the books and the comics into separate posts so that I didn’t have one massive post up. Massive posts are a bit tough to handle, especially when you are promoting them on social media. And with the split posts, the directions are different and there’s no unnecessary crossover.

So, with the novels and graphic novels already having been covered, I now delve into my favourite monthlies of the year. This is the final “best of” list I’m doing for 2013 that involves reading.

You can check out my top-of-the-month lists on my Reading Awards page and this list is both an extension, and a continuation of what goes on there.

Let’s see what makes the cut and which comes close then!

Comics Picks of The Week 18.12.2013

Looks like its going to be the month of busy weeks. The last two weeks I’ve read two graphic novels each along with all my regular monthlies and this past week proved to be no different. Both Detective Comics Volume 4 and The Flash Volume 4 proved to be exceedingly good and now I have two more series that I need to catch up on for the New 52. Tall order, but doable. And as regards the usual monthlies, there were comics across the board, in all sorts of ways: genres, publishers, characters, etc, etc. The year has slowly transformed over the months into a really solid year for comics overall.

I still haven’t made any dent in the pile of graphic novels I have to read, but I’m not too worried about any of it, to be honest. Already used to that phenomenon from my novel reading.

Anyway, here’s another edition of this new feature. Full reading list, as always, is available here and all my comics reviews are available here.

Uncanny X-Men #15 (Comics Review)

For better or for worse, Marvel’s next big event has kicked off and a lot of titles this month are suffixed by .INH to indicate that they are all tie-ins to this big event, that won’t actually start till April of next year. Its a fact that Marvel comics this year have been embroiled in one event after another almost non-stop, and that things aren’t looking to slow down either. Last month’s Uncanny X-Men #14 was an issue where one minor character got his time to shine, independent of any tie-in business. It was quite an average issue at best, and far too removed from previous events so I was looking to see if this month’s issue would be better.

Uncanny X-Men #15 is barely better, at least in terms of writing. The first half of the issue is really good, but once all the Inhumanity stuff gets started, the issue takes a big nose-dive and it is quite disappointing because of how incidental it all seems. So definitely a mixed issue at best, and I’m really lamenting that this issue is not as independent as the previous issue. However, one thing I can say with confidence is that the art is pretty damn good, aside from a few off things here and there. Kris Anka is the guest artist on the issue and his work is glorious.

All-New X-Men Special #1 by Mike Costa (Comics Review)

With Marvel’s ongoing Battle of the Atom crossover event across the X-Men books, I’ve finally given in and started to read these books. I was already following Brian Wood’s X-Men but having read the first month’s worth of Battle of the Atom issues, I have this hankering to catch-up on both All-New X-Men and Uncanny X-Men, mostly because these series are still “young” and the catch-up isn’t too daunting. There’s already a new issue of the former out, yesterday, and I’ll be reading it soon.

However, before I do any of that catch-up, I decided to read Mike Costa’s one-shot All-New X-Men Special #1, following an interview he did with CBR regarding the Arms of the Octopus mini-crossover he is writing across All-New X-Men, Indestructible Hulk and Superior Spider-Man. It was a fun interview and it got me really interested in the story here, so I went ahead with reading the issue. I was expecting something a bit intriguing and entertaining. I ended up getting something that I really enjoyed on all levels, something that is worth rereading and is memorable.