The Week's Best, for the week of 7-26-10 to 8-1-10

Keeping this one short because it's 10:40 at night and I have to be up in eight hours, so without further ado...

The Week's Worst Comic Book Winner - Outsiders #31

Dan DiDio is DC Comic's Publisher or Vice-President or whatever, and this is one of (if not the only) book he writes for them. As a writer, Mr. DiDio is a hell of a Publisher or Vice-President or whatever.

The Week's Best Comic Book Winner Runner-Up - Batman: The Widening Gyre #6

Walt Flanagan's art is serviceable, at best, but Kevin Smith rights a better Batman than you'd expect, and the end of this first volume of Widening Gyre resulted in one hell of an "Oh, shit!" moment for me.

The Week's Best Comic Book Winner - X-men: Legacy #238

Now that the big crossover event, what comes next for the X-Men has been awesome so far, with this book narrowly beating the newest issue of Uncanny X-Men to win. It features a classic X-story: it has a cast of characters not focused on often (except for Rogue and Magneto, the other characters featured are Anole, Loa, and Indra) handled by Mike Carey, one of the best writers there is at characterization right now, a mysterious villain, a mysterious victim, and a personal problem that also serves as a parable for the real world... those are the factors that the greatest X-stories are always made up of.

The Week's Best, for the week of 7-19-10 to 7-25-10

I think this week has been the hardest I've had, in terms of putting this list together. Despite some fairly big releases (including a few by Bendis, who normally wins whenever he has a book out), none of this week's books really moved me at all. But, I shall do my best...

The Weel's Worst Comic Book - Lady Deadpool One-Shot

Ah, the ruination of Deadpool continues. Aside from the four titles starring Deadpool that came out this month, there's this mess of a one-shot starring a female version of Deadpool that is absolutely ridiculous, with atrocious art that is only surpassed by it's horrendous writing and plotting. I miss the days when Deadpool was handled well as a character and written brilliantly... so, basically, I miss Fabian Nicieza.

The Week's Best Comic Book Runner-Up - Angelus #4

Ron Marz has pretty much been the head "farmer" in the Top Cow Universe for a few years now, and his world-building continues with this Witchblade spin-off that continues to tell the story of Dani Baptiste, her girlfriend Finch, the Angelus Warriors, the Thirteen Artifacts, and the Darkness himself, Jackie Estacado. All that and beautifully rendered art by Stjepan Sejic, and this book is a definite winner.

The Week's Best Comic Book Winner - DV8 - Gods and Monsters#4

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a super-powered team comprised of people who were... morally dubious, to say the least... was dropped onto a planet whose natives were prehistoric? If you're anything like me, you probably have, and if you're anything like me, you'll absolutely love the job Brian Wood and Rebekah Isaacs are doing on this book. I can't say enough about how awesome this series is, so I won't bother trying. Just check it out, you won't be disappointed.

The Week's Best, for the week of 7-12-10 to 7-18-10

This is going to be a "day late and a dollar short" edition, as the "real" week's best for last week was my ass finally getting a job. That has royally screwed up my sleeping habits this week since I need to start getting up at about 6:40am every morning now. So, this is going to be a wordless edition because I still have a Mets Monday to do today (I missed last week's column) and I'm just flat-out tired. Enjoy!

The Week's Worst Comic Book - Titans #25

The Week's Best Comic Book Runner-Up - Superman #701

The Week's Best Comic Book Winner - Amazing Spider-Man #637

The Week's Best, for the week of 7-5-10 to 7-11-10

K, so this is another edition that's going to be short on words because I've barely slept since Thursday, True Blood is going on in about fifteen minutes, and I've got a job interview tomorrow. If I knew how to do haiku, I'd limit my comments to that, but that would probably take longer...

The Week's Worst Comic Book - Brightest Day - The Atom Special

There was just absolutely no need for this book, at all. It doesn't even tie-in to the Brightest Day event, but they threw the banner on there because they knew they'd have to find a way to sucker people into buying this pointless effort about a character no one cares about, especially when a large part of DC's fan base is still railing at the pointless, senseless way they killed off the new Atom to bring the old one back.

The Week's Best Comic Book Runner-Up - Avengers - The Children's Crusade #1

It's been a long wait, but Allan Heinberg and Jimmy Cheung are finally back on the characters they created, the Young Avengers, an d it was worth the wait. It feels like the creative team has never missed a beat, picking up a sub-plot from the first volume, one that is deeply important to both the Avengers and X-Men franchises, and running with it with great characterization, action, and stunningly beautiful art.

The Week's Best Comic Book Winner - X-Force #28

The penultimate chapter of the "Second Coming" crossover event that has been running through the X-Men books for the last three months, this one features the final victory of the FiOS guy, as Cable is dead. I shouldn't make jokes about the death of one of my favorite characters, but, well, it wrote itself.

The Week's Best, for the week of 6-28-10 to 7-4-10

For this Fourth of July edition, we're sticking to semi-clever one-liners because I'm busy watching Star Wars and even though I can pretty much recite the damn movies by now, I'm still watching.
So, away we go!

The Week's Worst Comic Book - Teen Titans #84

I haven't seen this much awful, hackneyed writing in a boring rehash of a plot that's been done to death since... well, since I watched Jonah Hex.

The Week's Best Comic Book Runner-Up - Astonishing X-Men #34

Usually Warren Ellis is far too busy wanking himself over his knowledge of theoretical science, but he stops stroking long enough to throw some characters beats in here that, while they don't match at all what's going on in the main line of X-books, are still good enough to enjoy.

The Week's Best Comic Book Winner - The Death of Dracula One-Shot

Suck it, Twilight. There's more bite and "real" vampire culture in this one issue than in all four of your books combined.

The Week's Best, for the week of 6-21-10 to 6-27-10

Very tired. No sleep this weekend. No more words. Just pictures. Enjoy.

The Week's Worst Comic Book - Wolverine Origins #49

The Week's Best Comic Book Runner-Up - Amazing Spider-Man #635

The Week's Best Comic Book Winner - Superman #700

The Week's Best, for the week of 6-14-10 to 6-20-10

So obviously, since the TV season ended and none of these summer replacement shows have done anything to pique my interest, I have to make a change to this column. If I didn't the best TV show every week would be True Blood and there would be no runner-up, and that would just be too repetitive for me. Instead, what will happen is that until the new fall season starts (or until I decide to stop blogging in the sheer face of indifference I'm receiving from people who all told me it would be awesome if I blogged again...), this will solely be a comic book column. There will still be a runner-up and a winner each week, but to add to it in place of the missing TV show entries, there will be a new "Week's Worst Comic Book" Award, and we'll kick it off with that right now.

The Week's Worst Comic Book - Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth #12

Look, I want to make it clear right off the bat, my intention here isn't to bash anybody or say anybody sucks. Truth is, even the writers and artists I don't like are doing something I can't do and I have no right to bash them; in fact, I have the utmost respect for them. And in this case, it isn't the writing or art I really have a problem with (although Gischler's writing style just rubs me the wrong way for some reason I can't quite articulate, and Dazo's art just feels too cartoony to me), it's more like the problem I have is with the direction Marvel has taken Deadpool as a whole. He's gone from being a dangerous, highly skilled mercenary who was a little cracked and used it to his advantage to distract and annoy his targets to being completely out of his gourd, having schizophrenic conversations with himself, doing completely ridiculous things for even more ridiculous reasons, and on top of that, he shows up in almost as many books in a month as Wolverine or Spider-Man! The overexposure makes things worse, and I find myself fervently wishing that Fabian Nicieza would be given Deadpool to make him shine again. If the good ship Deadpool isn't righted by the time the movie comes out, things will only get worse, I imagine...

The Week's Best Comic Book Runner-Up - Birds of Prey #2

Having Gail Simone and Ed Benes back on this book is like having Christmas come once a month. Nobody is better suited to drawing a book with an almost all-female cast than Benes, who draws beautiful women better than just about anyone I've ever seen, and Simone's ability to give all the characters different voices and use of thought boxes is fantastic. The book is packed with action, comedy, character beats, and a mystery, and is just not something to be missed.

The Week's Best Comic Book Winner - Amazing Spider-Man #634

"They're hunting spiders," really does say it all. For the better part of the last year, Spider-man has been running a gauntlet, facing all of his deadliest foes, one after another, and while he's survived each encounter, he's never won; in fact, each time he's lost something... a friend, his job, etc... The whole time, it has all been orchestrated by Sasha Kravinoff, the wife of the deadly and long-deceased Kraven the Hunter, and their equally deadly daughter, Ana, who, along with Ana's half-brother Aloysha, really have been hunting spiders. They've already kidnapped Madame Web and the third Spider-Woman, Mattie Franklin, and when this issue opens, they've already beaten the crap out of Spidey-clone Kaine, who shows up on Peter Parker's door looking for help. In the midst of helping him, Peter gets dragged into a battle outside, where Ana and Aloysha are attacking the second Spider-Woman, Julia Carpenter, now known as Arachne. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say the issue also features a very surprising return, a heart-breaking death, and a resurrection that isn't quite what's expected, as well as the revelation of what Sasha's plan has been all along. Joe Kelly's sense of action and dialogue is fantastic, and the scenes he writes her are both thrilling, compelling, and saddening. The art by Lark and Gaudiano is a perfect fit for this story, dark and gritty and, well, grim. The Grim Hunt is the first of three Spidey storylines this summer, and it starts off with a bang here. Plus, as if all that wasn't enough, the issue also features a back-up story about the first time Kaine met the original hunter, Kraven, and ANOTHER back-up story that features two pages written by Stan Lee. Price of admission right there, folks.

The Week's Best, for the week of 6-7-10 to 6-13-10

Once again, because I'm doing this crazy late since it took longer than usual for me to read all the things I was going to read for this week, I'm just going to drop some pictures on you today. Next week I'll probably start the new format I've thought up for this column for the summer. So until then, here you go.

The Week's Best TV Show Winner - Glee Ep. 1x22, "Journey

The Week's Best Comic Book Runner-Up - Batman #700

The Week's Best Comic Book Winner - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #11

The Week's Best, for the week of 5-31-10 to 6-6-10

I'm not in the chattiest of moods right now, and I'm also fairly pressed for time, so I'm going to skip the usual right ups after each show or comic, and just give you the winners. And like last week, since I only watched two shows, there's only one TV show.

The Week's Best TV Show Winner - Happy Town Ep 1x04, "Slight of Hand"

The Week's Best Comic Book Runner-Up - Serenity: Float Out

The Week's Best Comic Book Winner - The Darkness/Darkchylde: Kingdom Pain

The Week's Best, for the week of 5-24-10 to 5-30-10

We're going to do things a little differently this week, at least on the television side of things. Since only three of the shows I watch were still airing new episodes this week (and much like Lost last week, 24 is disqualified since it'll be getting it's own entry some time this week), it would be silly to write about two of them. So, with that in mind...

The Week's Best TV Show Winner - Glee Ep 1x20, "Theatricality"

I really do hate Glee for not only making Mike O'Malley relevant for more than just bad commercials again, but for also making him one of the key parts of the show. The truth is, watching him as Burt Hummel try to navigate a difficult relationship with his queer-as-folk son Kurt who he obviously does love and support with all his heart usually steals the show anytime it's featured, and this week was no exception. Between that and the featured story line about Rachel and her mother and the Gaga songs that were really entertaining, this was a solid episode.

The Week's Best Comic Book Runner-Up - The Thanos Imperative: Ignition

For the last few years, the Cosmic side of the Marvel Universe has been firing on all cylinders. It began with the "Annihilation" story, written by Keith Giffen, and since then has been shepherded by the writing team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. First they wrote "Annihilation: Conquest," which led to the returns of the Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy series, as well as Adam Warlock. They followed that up with "War of Kings" and Reign of Kings." Now, they bring us the return of one of Marvel's deadliest threats, Thanos, but this time, he seems to be the only hope to save everyone from an encroachment from another universe where death doesn't exist and people live like cancers. Aside from strong storytelling, this issue features a fantastic recap of just who Thanos is, and a surprise about who is leading the charge from that alternate universe that hits long-time readers like a punch to the gut. This book, and the "Thanos Imperative" series it leads into, is not to be missed.

The Week's Best Comic Book Winner - Secret Avengers #1

This is the second book in Marvel's "Heroic Age" of Avengers books, behind the adjectiveless "Avengers" that came out last week (the third, New Avengers, will be re-launching soon as well), and it is certainly a strange assemblage. Led by Steve Rogers, the original Captain America and now America's top cop, it features the newer Ant-Man, Valkyrie, War Machine, Nova, Black Widow, Beast, and Moon Knight. As the title implies, it's a team whose existence is known to no one but it's members. Ed Brubaker, who's writing the current "Captain America" series, handles the writing here as well, and the art is done by Mike Deodato, who has previously handled art chores on books like "Amazing Spider-Man," "Thunderbolts," and, most recently, "Dark Avengers." His art style is a perfect fit for the mood Brubaker sets for this book: dark, edgy, mysterious, and, similarly to how the team members handle their individual missions, totally competent. The book is fast-paced, action-packed yet filled with great character beats, and has an ending that certainly ups the intrigue level. Absolutely can't wait til the next issue.

The Week's Best, for the week of 5-17-10 to 5-23-10

Yes, I know the finale of Lost is later tonight. No, I'm not waiting until 11:30 tonight to write this column (mostly because, at that time, I'll be writing tomorrow's column for Heckling from the Balcony). Plus, Lost already had an episode on Tuesday that went into consideration for this, and I'll also probably be writing a special blog for Lost later this week, so it'll be covered. Get off my case, you obsessed Losties...

The Week's Best TV Show Runner-Up - Castle Ep 2x24, "A Deadly Game"

So many shows disappointed me this week (I'm looking at you, Fringe and Glee), and I was really afraid, as the end of the episode neared, this one would as well. Don't get me wrong, it was a fantastic episode, and, as usual, the background and twists in the murder case of the week were new and interesting. Going into the final scene, though, it looked like Castle and Beckett were finally going to get together... which, if Moonlighting as taught us anything, would have been the biggest mistake this show ever could have made. However, it resisted that urge and threw another monkey-wrench into their relationship: not only did they not get together, they also won't see each other for the next three months, as Castle will be spending the summer in the Hamptons with his publisher/ex-wife. Sexual tension ratcheted up in season three? Check.

The Week's Best TV Show Winner - House Ep 6x21, "Help Me"

I honestly think this was probably the best episode of television I watched all season. The tension was so high throughout, from the claustrophobic feeling to the fight with Cuddy that was six years in the making to the amputation... which quite literally had me cringing while I watched... it was pretty perfect all the way around. And the heartbreak that House suffered was perfect because, despite his attitude, what we all know is that he does care, especially this season. The most perfect part of the episode was the ending, something else six years in the making, which can be best summed up by the final lines of the episode: "How do I know I'm not hallucinating again?" "Did you take the pills?" "No." The only downside to the whole thing is that it probably means the end is drawing near.

The Week's Best Comic Book Runner-Up - Broken Trinity: Pandora's Box #2

I've been a fan of the Top Cow/Witchblade universe since Ron Marz took over some five or six years ago. This mini-series, written by Rob Levin and illustrated by Bryan Edward Hill, spins out of the Broken Trinity Witchblade events. It features Finn and Glori, bearers of the Glacier Stone and Ember Stone, respectively, two characters who are destined to be mortal enemies because of those artifacts. However, a common enemy has forced the two of them together. Not an original idea by any stretch, but the characterization really makes this issue sing. Finn is reluctant, to say the least, while Glori is driven and manipulative. There's an intense action sequence thrown in, but it's Finn and Glori that really drive the whole affair, and it's a damn compelling ride.

The Week's Best Comic Book Winner - War of the Supermen #3

I'm actually about to praise a Superman book. Yes, I'm just as surprised as you. The reason is that this is a rare case where Superman is fighting people just as powerful as him, his fellow Kryptonians. This four-part event is the culmination of the last few year's worth of Superman stories, which has seen the return of the Kryptonians from the bottled city of Kandor, including General Zod, and the war with Earth that has slowly been building. Everyone has been involved, from Brainiac to Lex Luthor to Supergirl and Superboy, Steel, and Krypto. Thousands of the few remaining Kryptonians have died, including both of Supergirl's parents and her best friend Thara, also known as Flamebird. As the rampaging Kryptonians basically lay waste to Earth and it's heroes in this issue, the stage is set for the final battle in next week's conclusion: Superman vs. Zod. We know who will win, but it's been a great ride so far.

The Week's Best, for the week of 5-10-10 to 5-16-10

I hate season finale time. I mean I love it, because generally finale episodes are the some of the better ones of the season, but I hate it, because soon there will be nothing on to watch. Sure, there will be a few good Summer replacement shows and whatnot, but those are usually few and far between. I'm going to have to think of a way to change this column around once everything wraps for the season, otherwise True Blood will just end up winning every week. I'm at the drawing board on that, don't worry.

The Week's Best TV Show Runner-Up - The Vampire Diaries Ep 1x22, "Founder's Day"

Boy, this show sure isn't shy about killing people off, is it? People have died left and right through the season, and on this episode alone, three fairly major characters died for sure, with another one possible, and yet another one in the hospital, and we don't know if she's conscious or not. Add to that the fairly jaw-dropping last few moments and the cliffhanger it left off on, and this is definitely one of the shows I'll be most looking forward to when it returns in September.

The Week's Best TV Show Winner - Supernatural Ep 5x22, "Swan Song"

This one really had it all. The apocalypse? Check. The final battle between Lucifer and Michael? Check. Sacrifice and death? Check? Deeply emotional character moments? Check. The final revelation of the presence of God in the series? It's debatable, but I think that's a check. I'm going to hold off on giving too many of my thoughts about how this functions as a season finale for now because of something I plan on writing in a few weeks, but I will say that this was an hour of great television that paid off on a lot of things fans have been waiting for since early in the show's existence, and it was worth the wait.

The Week's Best Comic Book Runner-Up - New Avengers Finale

A good seven or so years ago, Brian Bendis took over the Avengers and wrote a four part story that ended the 500-plus issue series. Not long after that, he started New Avengers, a series that lasted 65 issues and was the core book of Marvel's line, the backbone of events like House of M, Civil War, Secret Invasion, and the just concluded Siege. Now, with the Marvel Universe entering a new "Heroic Age," Bendis wraps up New Avengers with a story that ties up the long-running Hood plot line and finally sees this team pardoned and no longer operating illegally. Bendis' writing is great, as he really has the team dynamics down, and his Luke Cage, as always, especially shines. The art by Bryan Hitch excels at making the heroes look, well, heroic, but the real treat is the splash pages at the end, recapturing some of the many great moments of this series; it's definitely a fitting finale. Of course, New Avengers Vol. 2 #1 is just a few short weeks away...

The Week's Best Comic Book Winner - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #10

In the first edition of this column, I said this title would probably end up showing up here a lot, and here it is for the second month in a row. Bendis gets both slots in this week's column, as this second part in the story of Kitty Pryde being kicked out of school because it's illegal to be a mutant really picks up the pace and hits home runs left and right; from Kong's defense of Kitty to Peter, Bobby, and Johnny's forced lack of defense of her, the scenes in school are pitch-perfect, especially the panels of nothing but Kitty's face, framed in tears. The scene where the principal quit, while heavy in exposition, was powerful as well. The issue is stolen, though, by the action sequence of Kitty on a rampage, defending herself from the government in front of her home, and kicking the crap out of her friends because they did nothing to help her. The fantastic dialogue lets us know that Kitty knows they couldn't have done anything, but she's so full of anger and frustration, and, considering everything this character has been through, it's understandable. The whole thing culminates with her hiding in a sewer in tears. It's touching and powerful, and the last page cliffhanger could either help Kitty's situation... or make things ridiculously worse. I can't wait to find out which.

The Week's Best, for the week of 5-3-10 to 5-9-10

Before I get into the winners this week, I just want to mention that this was a tough week on the TV side. So many shows put out great episodes this week, including V, The Vampire Diaries, and Supernatural, but none of them won the top spot. Maybe next week. Anyway, here are this week's winners.

The Week's Best TV Show Runner-Up - FlashForward Ep 1x18, "Course Correction"This show is without a doubt the most botched show of the television season. The original show schedule called for the episode of the date the whole world briefly flash-forwarded to, April 29th, to air on Thursday, April 29th, giving the show a nice synergy with the real world. However, ABC decided to put the show on hiatus from Dec. 3rd to March 18th, so now that April 29th date won't occur until May 27th. That hiatus also blew the head of steam the show had built up. This episode, however, dealt with what the show is really about; questions of fate and free will, and can you really escape your destiny? It was a very thought-provoking hour that showed what this show could have been if it ever lived up to its potential on a consistent basis.

The Week's Best TV Show Winner - Glee Ep 1x17, "Bad Reputation"I don't even care about the plot or the dialogue this week, although I'm sure they were as good as usually are on this show. No, this show wins just for having "U Can't Touch This," "Ice, Ice, Baby," and "Total Eclipse of the Heart" all in the same episode. That is just pure win.

The Week's Best Comic Book Runner-Up - Stephen King's N. #3This adaption of one of King's short story, fantastically written by Marc Guggenheim and beautifully illustrated by Alex Maleev, is a fascinating psychological thriller that is totally gripping and more than a bit terrifying. I can't wait for the conclusion next month.

The Week's Best Comic Book Winner - Amazing Spider-Man #630"Shed," the last chapter of the nearly year-long "Gauntlet" storyline, begins here. This opening part is light on action, which is fine, because writer Zeb Wells shines on characterization here. Between Spider-Man's unique relationship with the Black Cat, Peter Parker's growing relationship with Carlie Cooper, and his relationships with best friend Harry Osborn and the changing Aunt May, the dialogue really sings. The most interesting part is the inner thoughts of Dr. Curt Connors as the Lizard inside him tries to influence his thoughts and take control. On the art side, Chris Bachalo's style, which is usually a great fit for Spider-Man, works even better than usual here. Just a great issue all the way around.

The Week's Best, for the week of 4-26-10 to 5-2-10

Today's entry is probably going to end up a little shorter than usual because it's around 90 degrees in my room right now and as I sit in my desk chair, my shirt is sticking to me like a second skin and it's really uncomfortable. Also, I'm trying to write a 90-page play, so my thoughts are a little scattered. So, let's go on with The Week's Best...

The Week's Best TV Show Runner-Up - Fringe Ep 2x20, "Brown Betty"Say you have a mad scientists who's trying to be a good guy. Now say his son has walked out of his life without an explanation and he's very upset about it, so he's resorted to lots of drugs. More drugs than usual for him. Now say he's asked to babysit a little girl and tell her a story. What do you get? You get a semi-musical episode about magical hearts and animated corpses singing about how the candyman can. "Nuff said.

The Week's Best TV Show Winner - House Ep 6x18, "Open and Shut"
Aside from the usual fascinating interactions between House and his minions and patients, this week had two terrific sub-plots: the first involved House setting up fights to try to break Wilson and his new girlfriend/first ex-wife up; the second involved one of the members of House's team, who sought to start an open marriage with his wife after seeing that this week's patient was in one, all of which eventually led to some really great scenes between him and his wife, before he lied to and cheated on her. Good stuff.

The Week's Best Comic Book Runner-Up - Green Hornet #3I was never that big a fan of the Green Hornet growing up, so it's fair to say that what drew me to Dynamite's current Hornet revival is the fact that the main series is being written by Kevin Smith, based off his script for a Green Hornet movie that never happened. Based on reading this, whoever decided that movie shouldn't happen should be fired. For the most part, Smith's story-telling is sharp, and until the final sequence there isn't a hint of his trademark humor here. Plus, he kills the Green Hornet, which is fairly awesome.

The Week's Best Comic Book Winner - X-Force #26Spoiler alerts, folks. This is the fifth chapter in the huge X-Men "Second Coming" event, which focuses on the return of Hope, the mutant Messiah who was the first mutant born after the events of House of M. This is a big deal because, after the "no more mutants" line was uttered in that story, the amount of mutants in the Marvel universe dropped from tens of thousands to 198, and we're told in the beginning of this story that it's down now to 181. So a mutant birth is a big deal, and now that Hope is back, the X-Men's leader, Cyclops, is doing everything he can to keep her safe. Unfortunately in this issue, "everything he can" exacts a heavy price, and the popular Nightcrawler is killed. This issue is filled with riveting action up until his death, and even more compelling emotional beats after his death, as Hope cries over his body, Cyclops is wracked with guilt, the rest of the X-Men are filled with sorrow, and Wolverine simmers with rage. This is rapidly becoming an event that is not to be missed.

The Week's Best, for the week of 4-19-10 to 4-25-10

The Week's Best is an entry I'm going to do (hopefully!) every week, talking about my favorite TV show episodes and comic books of the week. Pretty self-explanatory, right? What's that? You want to know why movies aren't on the list? I'm glad you asked! I won't be talking about movies on here because all the best things about movies are covered by myself and mi amigo Nick on an almost daily basis over at Heckling from the Balcony (plug! plug!) And now, here are the week's winners.

The Week's Best TV Show Runner-Up - Supernatural Ep. 5x19, "Hammer of the Gods"
Another solid episode from one of the few shows on television that never disappoints me, this episode saw a literal pantheon of "pagan" gods gather to try to decide how to stop the Christian apocalypse, only to end up slaughtered to a god by Lucifer (except for Kali, but, y'know, she IS the Hindu goddess associated with eternal energy, after all*). Oh, yeah, they also killed Gabriel. Yes, the archangel. How can you not love a show like that?

The Week's Best TV Show Winner - 24 Ep. 8x18, "Day 8: 9:00am - 10:00am"
I've loved 24 for a long time, but it's been a very up-and-down romance: the ups would be when they focus on Jack and what he does; the downs would be pretty much everything else. It's no secret that the B storylines on the show usually suck. The strength of this episode, then, is that, with the exception of a scene or two with Gregory Itzin doing his slimiest as President Logan, this episode focuses squarely on Jack. He runs the emotional gauntlet in this one, from grief to rage to violence to insubordination, and eventually becoming almost a terrorist himself. The end of this one really ratcheted up the suspense for the next episode.

The Week's Best Comic Book Runner-Up - X-Men Legacy #235
The fourth part of the big X-Men story going on right now, "Second Coming," this issue really had it all. Greg Land's art, which I'm not usually a fan of for reasons anybody who knows how to Google can easily find out, wasn't nearly as bad as usual and fit the story fairly well. That story, by Mike Carey (who, aside from comics, has also been writing novels; there are four or five out now, I've read the first two, and they're simply fantastic, I highly recommend them) is the strongest of the storyline so far. He matches intense action, including multiple deaths, impaling, and a beheading, with some really fantastic character beats. Any other week, and this easily would have been the winner. However...

This Week's Best Comic Book Winner - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #9
Brian Michael Bendis (if you haven't heard that name before, get used to it; you'll probably see it here a lot) has been writing Ultimate Spider-Man for 10 years now, has churned out around 145 issues in that time-frame, and, if I had been doing this blog that whole time, would probably have been on this column for most of those weeks. He has turned the series into a version of the old Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon: young Peter Parker has been forced to have Iceman and the Human Torch live in his house with him and Aunt May, and his girlfriend Gwen Stacy lives there as well; his two exes, Mary Jane and Kitty Pryde are always there as well. This issue sees the Torch team up with Spider-Woman in a fight sequence before he asks her out and, apparently, makes out with her; alas, poor Torch has no idea she's Peter's clone, which makes Pete all kinds of hysterically uncomfortable. Another highlight of the book is when Gwen, MJ, and Kitty all gang up on Peter to make him get a haircut (and Bendis uses this as an excuse to needle readers as well: when artist David LaFuente took over the book, people complained his Spidey's head was too round, so the girls tell Peter his hair makes his in-costume head look too perfectly round) and the results are priceless. The issue turns serious at the end, though, when federal agents try to drag Kitty out of school just because she's a mutant, and it ends with a dramatic cliffhanger that, like most issues of this series, leave you hungry for more.