PICKS OF THE WEEK – Oct. 28, 2020:

• BATMAN: THREE JOKERS #3: Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok have served up a confounding and concussive conclusion the biggest bat book that is years in the making. The wait has been worth it as Batman, Batgirl and Red Hood finally come face to face the clown princes of crime and take on their inner demons which only the Joker knows how to prod and push to make them teeter and fall of the edge. No punches are pulled in the fiery finale as we learn the secret behind the three Jokers, some colossal ramifications and new story threads that writers will be pulling at for years to come as the game is changed for the batman and his arch nemesis, right up until the final page. Johns really finds his element and sticks the landing with catharsis and closure for characters that have been leaping off the page for almost a century. Jason Fabok’s art is both the foundation and cherry on top of this final chapter. His pencils transcend a lot of his contemporaries and fleshes out Gotham and its grit with action, movement and emotion. This is a must buy for any fans of the Batman, the Joker, or those who want a satisfying conclusion to well told tale.

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• SEX CRIMINALS #69: Another finale for the ages with the last issue of Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky’s masterpiece, Sex Criminals. The issue works as an epilogue to all the mischief, mayhem and general genital weirdness the series is known for. All your favorites form issues past are here and get a fantastic send off in a way only Fraction and Zdarsky know how to deliver. There’s humor and heart in this ‘adults only’ book and they really pull at your heart strings in the most human fashion as time jumps forward for John and Suze. There are a few surprises as to who ends up together but, as a whole, the series and the issue speak upon the fickle and ever-changing nature of relationships and ties this story up in a bow so beautiful and real that it makes the whole thing seem worthwhile. Maybe that’s the point. Hats off to these two creators who have poured their guts into something so strange and yet tender in opening up its readers to a vulnerability that is desperately needed to talked about. If you haven’t already, go back and buy the trades for the series if you haven’t read them yet and finish with this climax worthy of comic’s greatness.

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• TMNT: LAST RONIN #1: The eagerly awaited last chapter in the TMNT mythos is finally here and all bets are off with this oversized and unchained issue from series creators Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird and Tom Waltz. The issue starts off with a bang and doesn’t let up as last surviving Turtle pulls a Snake Pliskin and sneaks into a walled off New York to carry out one last mission of revenge for the demise and death of his brothers. The creators here took all the best images, sequences, and motifs from a lot of your favorite 80s action films and have made something spectacular, as the series really goes back to its roots with a grittier and bloodier take on the turtles, their world and the bleakness of what comes after the foot clan have won. The series sets up some great mysteries, callbacks, cameos and action as they really mine the depths and bonds of these brothers as the sole survivor deals with the guilt and anguish of losing those he loved so much. If you love the turtles, grew up with them or have just seen the 90s movies then give this book a chance because it makes all those sweet memories that much more meaningful when you see the darkness and despair that comes with such a heavy burden on our beloved cultural icons whose time has caught up to them.

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