Back to Sunnydale

I have to say that I was pretty dissapointed after voting for this year 's Scream Awards on Spike TV. After navigating the confusing maze that is their website and finally figuring out how to vote, it was hardly worth it as their comic book categories were as generic as they could be. Hey Spike TV, here's a hint: there are other comic books besides Civil War and Captain America, though I admit the latter is an excellent book. There are also other comic book writers besides Brian Michael Bendis.

Apparently Spike TV only goes for what's popular as their list didn't feature many indy books.

Hey Spike TV, have you guys ever heard of Dark Horse comics or Image? Or even Devil's Due? Probably not.

At least their biggest moment in comics portion gave us plenty of choices including the death of Captain America, the unmasking of Spiderman in CW 2 and the smackdown between Superman and Superman Prime in Infinite Crisis, but what about the reveal that Elektra was a skrull in New Avengers 28-34. I guess Spike TV people don't read New Avengers. In fact, I doubt they read any comics at all, they probably only look at publishers' solicitations.

Still, I gotta almost forgive them because despite their obssession with Grindhouse and 300, and their contribution to the decline of western civilization with TNA wrestling and Ultimate Fighting and commercials featuring boob shots and graphic violence, they do air Star Trek TNG re-runs on weeknights. where else can a sci fi aficionado get his/hers fix of the federation and the travails of Captain Picard??

I can always count on comics to make me feel good, even when the outlook for everything else might be bleak. So here I present for you as detailed by ICV2 News the top 10 comics for the month of August:

All hail the conquering Green Goliath. Seriously, this book is top notch. John Romita Jr's artwork is superb and the Hulk and his warbound brothers taking revenge of Marvel's elite is an absolute blast. Even if it's an extra buck, you should buy this book because it is so worth it, it's a fanboy's dream, a perfect blend of smashing action and manufactured comic book comflicts and intrigue.

Not to be outdone is DC with JLA #12 which has gone into second printing. This is the end of the Brad Meltzer run and I say good riddance! His story arcs have been boring and slow paced. I've had more fun watching the mildew grown on my bathtub. Seriously, this guy takes the best cast of superheroes that DC has to offer and reduces it to a soap operaish mess. Its only redeeming quality is it pays homage to the silver age JLA but I'm already looking forward to Dwayne McDuffy's new direction with the book starting with issue 13 which seems to be more in tune with the Justice League Unlimited cartoons.

Finally, rounding out the top 5 is Stephen King's Dark Towers (yawn) and New Avengers #33 and Astonishing X-Men #22. The latter comes out too infrequently for me but the former is a top notch comic despite Brian Michael Bendis' inability to write good team dialogue to save his skin. Still, you can't go wrong with the artwork and with the plot twists month in and out. Skrull invasions, the Hood and now symbiotes running amok. Now that's a hell of a good book and it has the sales numbers to back up the fact the fans can't get enough of it.