Scribs' Picks - Holiday Hangover Month Review
Hullo all, and here's hoping that you had a fabulous holiday season. Cheers!  Thanksgiving weekend threw off my schedule a bit, but I've got several weeks' picks off the rack for the whatever-I-caught-and-died-from on the first week of December. We're going to be taking a look at Indestructible Hulk #1, and two weeks ago, I'm going to have to give kudos to the return of Witch Doctor, with Mal Practice #1.  For last week's comics, I've put my money down on Scarlet Spider.  Holidays are in full swing right now, so I've got to keep this short, so here goes!

Indestructible Hulk #1

Mark Waid has always been a hit or miss writer with me, and I find that I either love an idea of his, or I want to beat him over the head with a wiffle bat.  But, having fallen in love with his more recent work on Daredevil, I've been generally pleased with him - and so while I was sad to see Jason Aaron leaving Hulk, I was looking forward to what Waid had to offer.  In short, the series is fantastic.  It's clever, it cuts to the chase and makes for an excellent jump into the series, and it presents us with a very nicely written Bruce Banner in the lead.
Leinil Yu was completely unknown to me until recently, and well… Suffice to say, it is gorgeous.  Her style has a flow to it that is uncommon in super-hero comics, and comes as a very pleasant relief.  Overall I'd give it a 4.5/5, if only because it isn't so hot in terms of a seguay from the previous story arc, but still serves as an excellent jumping on point.

Next up:  Witch Doctor: Mal Practice #1

I became a huge fan of this series with the initial launch of this series on Free Comic Book Day a couple years ago, with it's hilarious issue #0.  Seifert's first story arc, "Under the Knife," was an amazing blend of horror, comedy, and drama.  This new arc comes to us after a long hiatus, and reintroduces the series with a bang.
Folks unfamiliar with the series my find themselves caught a tad off guard with the quirky humour, but it's smartly written dialogue and beautiful art brings people on board with ease.  I'm excited to see where this series goes from here, bringing a new personal element to the individual characters, and focusing a little less it would seem on the world building that was provided in the last story arc.  All in all, I'd have to rate it as a 5-of-5, but not-for-kids comic.  It deals with a lot of grown up stuff: medical procedures, war fatigue, STDs, and some of the most amazing monsters I've ever had the pleasure of seeing drawn.
The light-hearted way in which the characters cope with day-to-day difficulties does lend for a bit of a slice-of-life feel to it, though.  It makes it for a fun but unusual story that even non-comic geeks can enjoy.

Up to bat next is last week's pick: Scarlet Spider #12

Last week was a difficult decision.  There were a lot of good comics that came out - including a new Atomic Robo, Cable & The X-Force, and Avengers Assemble… But Scarlet Spider stuck out because of two things specifically:  It served as both a good hopping on point and a good segue into the new story arc after Minimum Carnage: Omega; and it managed to tell a concise story that drew you in and left you feeling entertained and wanting more.
I would also like to mention that my favourite comic book line all week was in this issue, in the form of the following exchange: "Quick, call the police!"  "I am the police!"  So yeah - there's that.
It's a fun issue, excellently written, extremely entertaining, and definitely my choice for 5-of-5 for last week's comics.

In closing, I'd like to apologize for the lack of updates - the Holiday season has been strenuous on business, and I hope to be returning to regular weekly updates very soon!  Thank you for stopping by!