Comic book best picks of the week: 12/8/21

New week, new comic books. So what were some of the best to come out this week?

From Krakoa to Las Vegas, this week’s comic books had something for everyone, whether it be political intrigue or greedy horror.

But what were the best releases this week?

Best comic book releases this week:

Batman #118

Written by Joshua Williamson, Art by Jorge Molina, Colors by Tomeu Morey

A new era for Batman has begun and it’s being headed by the current architect of the DC Universe, Joshua Williamson. Before even reading this issue, Williamson’s track record, with runs on The Flash and his creator owned series Nailbiter, has been stellar so odds were that this issue was going to be a great start to a new run. After reading it? This is absolutely a fantastic first issue to his run.

This issue basically starts immediately where James Tynion IV’s run left off, with Gotham celebrating the defeat of the Magistrate. It’s a very different way to start a Batman issue, let alone run, and it works very, very well, especially because it helps the twist that occurs work all the better.

Both the beginning of this issue and the twist make for a great reason as to why Batman would leave Gotham and sets up an interesting story moving forward.

Inferno #3

Written by Jonathan Hickman, Art by R.B. Silva, Stefano Caselli, Valerio Schiti, & Adriano Di Benedetto, Colors by David Curiel

Some of the best parts of Jonathan Hickman’s tenure on the X-Men titles has been the political intrigue that he’s brought to the island of Krakoa and Inferno is probably the best example of this. Most of every issue of this series, with each issue at 52 pages each, has centered around the political infighting that is happening within the Quiet Council and the fact that each page is engrossing is a testament to how great of a writer Hickman is. To make the vast majority of what is over 150 pages of a series so far political, it’s a bold decision and one that has worked out incredibly well.

It also helps that the art continues to be stellar in this issue, even if there are three artists working on this one issue. Each of them have a distinct style, but none of them clash with each other at all. Each artist also brings the perfect amount of nuance and pacing to every page that they worked on which helps bring out the emotions of the characters on the page that much better.

Dark Knights of Steel #2

Written by Tom Taylor, Art by Yasmine Putri, Colors by Arif Prianto

One of the main complaints I’ve seen lobbied at Tom Taylor (of which I’ve been guilty of too at times) is that a lot of his series read like fan-fiction, almost like pandering. And that is slightly the case here too. However, that complaint doesn’t really hold water here as this is an alternate universe that’s sole purpose is almost to be fan-fictiony, and boy does it work well because of that.

The only characters that feel at all like their main universe counterparts are Batman, Wonder Woman, and Constantine. Everyone else feels like a new character sharing a name and certain characteristics, which is all the better for this fantasy universe. It keeps us on our toes regarding what’s going to happen and because of that, the final couple of pages hit incredibly hard.

But the real star of this book is Yasmine Putri. Her art is just phenomenal and will almost assuredly get her nominated for an Eisner, if not win the Eisner. She’s that good in this series. Her action is incredibly dynamic, but her art truly shines in her ability to bring out the emotions of both the characters and world around them. It’s not something every artist manages to do well, especially when it feels on the nose at times, but her art is so good that it simply doesn’t matter.

Devil’s Reign #1

Written by Chip Zdarsky, Art by Marco Checchetto, Colors by Marcio Menyz

With everything that was happening in Chip Zdarsky’s Daredevil series, it felt like Devil’s Reign was going to be something completely different than what it turned out to be. Now that it’s here though, this first issue sets up the plot pretty well. This is basically Wilson Fisk’s own personal version of Civil War, simply as revenge against Daredevil erasing his identity. It’s kind of brilliant. Take a plot that has been done before, make it affect characters other than Daredevil, but still keep the stakes incredibly personal between Daredevil and Kingpin. It’s classic Daredevil storytelling through and through.

The art in this issue, despite some really weird coloring for Luke Cage at times, is great too, which really shouldn’t come as a surprise. Checchetto’s art was always one of the highlights of the recently-ended Daredevil series so to see him branch out to the larger world, while still being Daredevil-centric, is great to see. Even if the story isn’t good – which isn’t the case here, the story is great – his art is always going to be a highlight of whatever comic he’s working on.

The Silver Coin #7

Written by Ram V, Art & Colors by Michael Walsh

Anthology comics are often a rare beast in the current publishing landscape, but every once in a while, an anthology, often horror, will come out and just be fantastic. The Silver Coin is one of those that has come out recently and this might be the best issue to date. It’s a compelling read that makes you care about the main character in just few pages, while immediately creating a sense of dread right when you open the issue.

Beyond just being an incredibly creepy issue, very much thanks to series creator and artist Michael Walsh, this is an issue condemning places like Las Vegas and people that prey on the less fortunate. That’s where most of the horror of this issue comes from. Not the gore and violence, although there is gore and violence, but rather following this man who was basically a nobody and being treated like a pawn in a game for the rich. It’s an extremely well done issue.

Have you been reading any good comic book stories lately? What were you favorites? Tell us your best comic book picks below!