Welcome back to Panel of the Week. Every week we pull the most noteworthy panels from your favorite comics. This week we have an ode to Queen, some robot cliches, a death scene worthy of Wile E Coyote himself, an Amazon princess looking a damn sight, and even a nod to existentialism in comics. We are of the highest brow, dammit.
Velocity #1
There’s not much original going on in this kickoff issue of Top Cow’s Pilot Season winning character, Velocity. However, the art of Kenneth Rocafort is reason enough to pick up this title. This guy can layout a page, no doubt. On the other hand, I was constantly distracted by writer Ron Marz’s need to have the squad of killer robots spew roboty dialogue in every panel. “Target acquired.” Who are you talking to?
Thor #611
Loki is dead and still I have to deal with the aftermath of his mischief. Was I alone in rejoicing when Loki bit it in Siege? His post mortem antics include the continued adventures of his pet Dini, Asguardian soul sucking ghouls. Try to stay on their good side, though. They can do the above to you should you get their ire up. (This panel also immediately made me think of Final Destination 2. Underrated.)
Werewolves of Montpellier
We are going to cover Werewolves in more depth over in Comic Book Club this week so you should, y’know, check that out. However, the empty panels that pepper this book lead to some strange associations. Here, protagonist Sven and his secret lesbian crush take a trip to the beach. All I could think of when I read this was how hot the beach must be in full fur and this all reminds me very strongly of The Stranger. Hope no one has a pistol…
Wonder Woman #600
Yawn. Another snore of a milestone issue from DC. All the hubbub over the new costume for Diana led up to a fizzle on the pages where it was finally featured. The first story of the book where Wonder Woman leads a battalion of female characters was the most interesting. All the women answered ‘the call’ from Wonder Woman for different reasons ranging from the star struck to the duty bound. For me, the high point of the issue was unsurprisingly this pinup by Adam Hughes. This guy is a super star for a reason. If no one else but him drew her, Wonder Woman wouldn’t need a new outfit.
Invincible #73
Two facial hair related notes about this issue. One, Mark Grayson with a beard looks remarkably like Keanu Reeves. Reason enough to buy this issue right there. Two, and I don’t know how I didn’t see this in his first appearance, but the Viltrumite ruler is Freddie friggin Mercury. All that’s missing is a microphone instead of the Belkin wireless router he’s apparently holding.
