Brian K. Vaughan

This thread is for brief reviews of the books you’ve actually READ, please. As always, give us your Top Five (or fewer) favorite new books of the week, along with a sentence or two explaining WHY you dug each.

Instead of complaining about comics that you didn’t like (which you’re always welcome to do with MY books), let’s just stick to talking about ONE TO FIVE comics that you’d recommend to the rest of us.

Remember, because of the holidays, no new books at most stores until FRIDAY...

ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY #18: This came out while I was away for Christmas, but it should still be on stands at finer stores. I think I enjoy Chris Ware comics about as much as I enjoy anything in life. Right up there with THE WIRE and sitting on the couch with my dog (and wife, occasionally).

BLUE PILLS: This European graphic novel (just reprinted in English by Houghton Mifflin) also already came out in a few bookstores, but it’s worth hunting down for fans of Alison "Fun Home" Bechdel and Craig "Blankets" Thomson, both of whom provide glowing quotes for this emotional but unsentimental love story.

ULTIMATE HUMAN #1: Warren Ellis puts out an inhuman number of books this week, including this new Marvel miniseries with the criminally underrated Cary Nord, as well as new issues of THUNDERBOLTS, DOKTOR SLEEPLESS, and a zero issue of GRAVEL, his new monthly ongoing series for Avatar.

NORTHLANDERS #2: Brian Wood’s excellent new Vertigo Viking series continues, and you know your book is badass when you have covers by both Y: The Last Man’s Massimo Carnevale AND Andy Kubert.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #10: This script contained a few of the funniest things Joss Whedon has ever written, which is obviously saying a lot.

Happy New Year,

BKV