Ben's Top Marvel and DC Titles from 2014

Are you ready for my favorite Marvel and DC titles for 2014?

Harley Quinn

My first pick for the Marvel and DC is Harley Quinn. If you’re not reading this, it is probably the funnest book on the shelf! Palmiotti and Conner just knock it out the park with the writing and Hardin is a fantastic artist. But one of the beautiful things about it is that you always get an Amanda Connor cover, so you can’t go wrong there.

Justice League 3000

Justice League 3000 is one of the books I’m afraid is going to land on the
butcher’s block. This book is set — obviously — in the year 3000. The Justice League has been cloned, they’re sent to fight five uber powerful beings that have set out to take over the galaxy. And Giffen has his typical humor, great storytelling, super heroics and you get some Booster Gold and some Blue Beetle, written by the man who knows how to do it.

Batman

We’ve also got Batman. I don’t think much needs to be said about this. Snyder and Capullo have taken the character that grew kind of stale and given it a fresh spin — they don’t just go to the well. Well, he sort of does, we’ve got Joker, we’ve seen Clayface, but he’s created villains that I believe are going to stand the test of time and become one of the rogues' gallery and prominent ones at that.


Trillium. Although this looks like an indy, this is a Vertigo title. Jeff Lemire
is someone to watch. If you haven’t seen some of his other stuff, you’ve got Lost Dogs, you’ve got Underwater Welder and Essex County. Trillium is a time-crossed love story about a woman at the end of time, where the human race is almost extinct, and a man who’s an explorer from the 30s. They come head to head. They switch places. The book makes you flip back and forth. You feel just as lost and disoriented as them. It’s a really emotional, really powerful story and it’s well worth reading.

Avengers

On to Marvel. I said “Top Five” and four of them were DC – imagine that, I’m a Marvel kid! But, Avengers and New Avengers go hand-in-hand. I count these both as one because they’re both written by Hickman; they’re both the core of the Avengers Universe and, quite honestly, the core of the
Marvel Universe. You know, you’ve got your X-men section, you’ve got your Spiderman section, you’ve got your space section, but this is everything that’s been happening, everything that’s bled into Infinity. You’ve got the Illuminati trying to stop the builders who are destroying earth after earth after earth. Making choices like destroying earth to save ours, and then you’ve got the Avengers who are good guys, who ultimately find out about it and have to do something. This is stuff that’s going to spin into the big event here in 2015 and Hickman’s doing a fantastic job!

Review: Smallville, Season Eleven, #6

Batman goes toe to toe against Superman and stands his ground, and he does it without kryptonite. So what's his secret? You'll have to read the issue to find out.

This face off makes the whole issue. The reason is personal to Batman. Clearly, he hasn't left his emotions out of it.

Later, Lex studies the match. Who knows where this will lead.

Get Rid of Otis!

I missed a few issues, but jumped into this one for obvious reasons. There's one major flaw to be found: Otis. Otis is a mistake. Unless there's a huge plot twist involving Otis, he needs to pack his suitcases. Otherwise, at this point, he appears to be the pointless character we've already seen elsewhere. One thing is certain: The Lex Luther of Smallville would never surround himself with the likes of Otis.

Let's hope the get back to the spirit of the original Smallville television series. Let DC not fool itself, the only readers of this comic book series are the fans of that show. Don't ruin it.

Dearest Dark Knight - Be My Valentine Contest - 2nd Place Winner

"An Ode to a Knight" by Jacob DeSersa

The blackest cowl upon your head

excites me like no other

your batarangs and grappling hooks

cause my heart to flutter

The greatest of hero's i would say

takes on the guise of a bat

his skills, his cunning, and charming grace

can always go un-matched

regular men and hero's alike

tremble at your very thought

the kryptonian, lantern, and atlatean too

the fear over them you've brought

you swoop over gotham, wings out stretched

instilling terror in some, hope in others at your very sight

for this is ode to you, the batman

the mightiest, and darkest, of knights

###

Congratulations to our 2nd place winner - Jake, the drummer in Seeker, Sacramento's own ultimate punk rock band! Even before he submitted his entry, there was no doubt in our mind that he would be writing to the Dark Knight. That's loyalty! Another post hits tomorrow. And if you missed this contest, be sure to read up on limericks for our next contest that's starting in a couple of days.