Welcome back to PCS’ weekly rundown of the best and worst new releases. The award-winning Criminal is our big winner this week, getting picked by three of our tastemakers (David Brothers of 4thletter, Ernie Estrella and Jason Michelitch), so now Brubaker & Phillips’ have a PCS Triple Pick to go along with their Eisner thingy. Rounding out the P&P crew this week are Albo & AHR of Geekanerd.

PICK: Countdown Special: Jimmy Olsen 80-Page Giant

Just when you thought nothing good could come of this Countdown nonsense, along come the COUNTDOWN SPECIAL 80-PAGE GIANTS, which is as dandy an example of lemons to lemonade as one could possibly mention.

The reasoning behind these books, best I can figure, is that since Countdown and Final Infinite Crises of Infinite Crossovers or whatever are delving into so many obscure characters and continuity points, I guess someone at DC thought it would be a good idea to reprint a few of the stories being referenced. And it is a good idea, if only because it supplies audiences with cheap, decent reprints of Silver Age stories that are SO MUCH MORE FUN than the dreary self-serious fan-fiction being published today. The Flash 80-Page Giant from a few weeks ago reprinted some pretty terrific John Broom/Carmine Infantino stories. But the Jimmy Olsen 80-Page Giant promises to be even better, delivering up reprints of three stories written and drawn by the king of comics himself, Jack Kirby. Packed full of frenetic imagination and rendered in Kirby’s often-imitated but never-duplicated bombastic art style, you can thrill to stories that were meant to be read instead of cataloged or cross-referenced, and then go back to your regularly scheduled programming and scratch your head at grown men twisting themselves into pretzels to justify treating the stories they read as kids as part of a never-ending planned narrative by over-explaining things that were supposed to be dumb fun to begin with. Yay, comics!

Shock Value: B (guilt by association with Countdown and sundry robs it of a top grade) – Jason

TRIPLE PICK!: Criminal #10

I have no problem whatsoever calling CRIMINAL, written by Ed Brubaker and drawn by Sean Phillips, the very best comic of its type – that type being the straight ahead crime story. It doesn’t have the over-the-top stylized fantasy worlds like Sin City or frame itself in fragmented melancholy vignettes like Stray Bullets. It’s just a book of straightforward Robert-Mitchum-or-Steve-McQueen-would-star-in-this-movie crime stories.

The most recent storyline, LAWLESS, concerns Tracy, a man who served hard days in the army, did some time in military jail, and has come home to find out why exactly his younger brother is now dead. To do so he has to bluff and lie his way in to his brother’s former circle of peers, and all bets are off on how the whole thing will end. This is the kind of book I usually buy in collected form, but it’s too damn good to not scramble for each installment as soon as it’s on the shelves. Shock Value: A++ good - Jason

Criminal scored Best New Series and Best Writer Eisners this year, and for very good reason. Ed Brubaker’s script and Sean Phillips’s art mesh perfectly and give us a crime comic straight out of yesteryear. This issue is the finale of Lawless, Criminal’s second arc. It’s a book full of hard men and women making hard choices. Tracy Lawless completes his quest to find out who killed his brother and, if necessary, avenge his death. By the end of the book, we’re teased with what looks like a happy ending, only to see exactly what revenge actually is. The Lawless arc has shuffled between action and smaller character moments constantly, and this issue is no different. The violence takes a back seat to the story. Even then, Phillips’s art sells Brubaker’s script, as we see exactly what can hurt a man who has only ever been good at hurting other people. Shock Value: A+ – David

The second story arc of Ed Brubaker’s crime stories comes to its end, careening into the wall like the end of great car chase. Tracy Lawless’ search for his brother’s demise finds its end and its brimming with seedy alleys, nuns and guns and broken hearts. One thing the world needs more, is good caper stories is what I always say. Ones with twisting plots, punches from nowhere coming everywhere leaving you toothless and wanting more. That’s Criminal and this is one fine comic. Shock Value: A- - Ernie

PICK: Lucha Libre #2

At six bucks an issue, before buying Lucha Libre you might ask yourself, “Would I be happier just buying two other books?” Well, I read a bunch of other comics this week and they all sucked (*cough*Robin*cough*), so unless you have something against gorgeous cartoon art, Lucha Libre #2 is a good bet.

Featuring no less than four separate comics, the main stories follow the exploits of the Luchadores, a gang of semi-competent vigilantes in Mexican wrestling masks who protect East L.A from werewolves, dinosaurs and Frenchmen. Writer Jerry Frissen fills the book with fantastic ideas and characters, but the execution can sometimes feel very glib, as with an ex-Luchador who speaks in unpuntuated Tarzan talk or a Panda-themed villain who communicates solely through Chinese mimicry. Still, the mind-blowing art is hard to resist, and one of the backup stories, featuring an earnest, big-headed kid monologuing about the glories of the wrestling ring, might actually be the best thing in the book.

Shock Value: B -AHR

PICK: New Avengers: Illuminati #5 (Pages 1-8)

This series is at its best when it’s just the guys (Iron Man, Professor X, Black Bolt, Namor, Dr. Strange, Mr. Fantastic) sitting around and chatting. There’s a great group dynamic that comes out of their distinct personalities and it’s been a blast to read each month (or so). This issue takes that dynamic and turns it on its head a bit, because now these characters have come through the Civil War and Stark has alienated everyone, especially Doc Strange who has gone underground and created his own Avengers to rival Iron Man’s. Also, World War Hulk saw them forced into brutal gladiator-style fights with one another, and Namor’s empire recently crumbled around him without any of these guys offering help. And as if all that wasn’t bad enough for their friendship, add to the mix that there is a Skrull invasion and any of them might actually be a Skrull, and you get a very tense—and entertaining!—conversation. The end of these eight pages provoked an audible gasp from me, something I’m not sure has ever happened to me before while reading a comic. Shock Value: A - Albo

PAN: New Avengers: Illuminati #5 (the rest of it!)

And then a goofy-looking stretchy Super Skrull with Black Bolt legs, Namor Arms, and Cloak of Levitation-patterned Iron Man armor appears and our heroes beat him up and kill him. And then two more goofy-looking Super Skrulls show up and our heroes beat them up and kill them too. And suddenly, what began as a gripping study in trust and friendship becomes another comic with angry guys punching each other. At the beginning of the issue the Skrull threat is a scary, mysterious, amorphous thing, and by the end it’s just another fistfight. What a waste. Shock Value: D- - Albo

PAN(?): Robin #168

Peter Milligan on Robin is a decent fit, even if the tone doesn’t quite mesh with the (awesome) Robin #167 by Brandon Thomas. He gives us something of a sourpuss Robin, a little more gloomy than I’d like, but he nails the characterization of R’as, Batman and Talia. Tim’s valid cautiousness quickly turns to immature pettiness within a few short panels. At the same time, Alfred’s willingness to help out the kid who beat the daylights out of him last time they met is a little iffy. The contrived “tripping on the rug” scene was a little eye-rolly, too. Overall, Robin 168 isn’t a bad comic, but the scenes featuring the star of the book fall flatter than they should. Tim is borderline irrational and Damian waffles from stubborn brat to crybaby over the course of a few pages. Could be worse, could be better– as-is, it’s just average. Shock Value: C+ - David

PICK: Scalped #11

Scalped continues to feed my hunger for organized crime comics each month with its no fear approach and pulse-pounding grit and gristle. Jason Aaron is my nominee for talent waiting to explode. R.M. Guerra’s pencils will suck you into the reservation. It’s as if your fingers will have red soil dust from turning the pages. Every year there’s a book that I feel the need to champion month-to-month, and this year it’s Scalped. There are few comics that make your hard-earned $2.99 go to something good, but this comic is worth that and three times more. But perhaps even cooler is the money-back guarantee that Aaron and artist Guera are issuing here: http://www.scalped.info/ So cough up $10 for the first trade and catch up to this issue if you haven’t already, I can guarantee you won’t be asking for your money back. Shock Value: A+ - Ernie

PICK: Y – The Last Man #59

So many series begin to lose steam shortly after their halfway point. High expectations are rarely met and there is less hype about a book in its closing than the opening. Y: The Last Man is not one of these series, instead it continues to be one of the few examples of finely crafted monthly comics, and sadly we get to enjoy this for only one more month. For roughly six plus years we’ve been bear-trapped by each issue into caring for a poor excuse for a man, watching him evolve into someone with balls. With the United States getting its first real taste at a woman running for office and issue by issue we’ve seen the whole canon of ass-kicking displayed by the ladies. Because that’s what this series is really all about. The ladies. Though he referenced many other science fiction stories similar to his over the years, Brian K. Vaughan managed to create this world minus the Y chromosome into something with some real weight to it, and one that will continue to show its relevance through the years past. One that will put men in their place and remind them that a world without men wouldn’t be the end.

In fact for sixty issues, it’s been a world we’ve been buying, and anticipating, and tearing through the pages to only have our hearts stomped on, shattered, or stopped fifty-nine times over. Please, Brian I don’t think I could take one more month of it. Yes I can, who am I kidding? And somehow, even though it may be the biggest crutch in Hollywood, Vaughan managed to find yet another monkey we couldn’t help but love. All the characters feel like family now and maybe that’s why it hurts to see it almost coming to an end.

The less I say about this story, really, the better. What I will say is that the last man on earth has business to tend to before the curtains are drawn. And after the last issue, there’s a lot emotions left pouring over which thankfully Pia Guerra and Jose Marzan Jr. took and crammed it carefully into each frame. The series has also been described by some as having a muted color palette, but I challenge anyone to find a better “lit” stage this week. Actions speak louder than words and in comics, the same could be said about the art and this team has done just as much as its famed writer in making Y what it is, and will undoubtedly find a healthy following after issue sixty. Take a bow Ms. Guerra, and let’s get to that final act. Shock Value: A+ - Ernie