The only title published by one of The Big 2 (for the uninitiated, which I expect there to be very few of reading this, those would be Marvel and DC) that i read monthly. Choosing this title seemed like an odd choice at first for me, but I knew it would be a perfect fit for my reading habits instantly. Power Girl as a character has, over the last five or so years, been growing on me. Aesthetically it is clear what her purpose is, but she has evolved beyond someone who I just saw on covers or in pages as a fan service character. The writers and artists who worked on her imbued her with a certain sense of humour, an acknowledgement of her assets and wardrobe issues that, even though I wasnt reading the JSA or other books she was appearing in, it came across and made me want to get to know the character better... and then I saw the preview art for the series. I had seen Amanda Conner's art before in the Terra mini-series that I (retardedly) passed up on and thought it was brilliant. In short her art is the most expressive (facial, body language, energy, posture etc.) and fun I have likely ever encountered and it strides a really nice line between cartoony and realish that grabs me the same way Humberto Ramos's art did the first time I saw it. There are no specific aesthetic prerequisites for catching my eye this way, as many artists of many differing specific artistic leanings have done this to me, all I know is that some people's art just feels appropriate for comic books and sometimes, no matter how talented an artist is, they can also just not work in a comic medium.
The combination of brilliant art with the writing of Palmiotti and Grey, which captures a certain lighthearted attitude which endears me to comics as well as a sense of humour that just hits me right where it matters. They play just the right amount to my geeky need for in-jokes, such as the cast of The Big Bang Theory
being in the theatre, with Wolowitz even hitting on PG, or the epicness of the repetative Zardoz 
references that begin very early in the series (now, this is just dredging up a character that had been lost to obscurity for ages and re-used better than he probably ever was before, but the way a writer can alter a character for the ages has been made evident by many pre-existing cases and I have to give these two credit for me enjoying the hell out of Vartox).The stories this team weaved were amazingly enjoyable and, annoyingly, I felt that many little plot points were left unfinished when the title switched to the new creative team at issue 13 to better coincide with the Generation Lost storyline. I can't give a fair review to how well the new creative team is doing yet, as too few issues have been released to date, but I can say I like the art, and it seems like some notes have been handed off by the old writing team to the new one to patch up those plot holes. the first collected volume of this series
A New Beginning is available now and the second volume is already up for pre-order as well. I can guarantee that both volumes read well as collected works, cuz I've gone back and read them again in that manner. If you are looking for a very fun comic, without the need to get into a tonne of backstory or too much seriousness, grab yourself at least the first trade and see where it takes you from there. The whole first run can be easily enjoyed without continuing on to the next creative team, but things are looking to be fun with team two (I just wish that the new bad guy had stayed looking like a Space Jam
meetz DBZ refugee).Haunt
Haunt was a comic specifically tailored to make me need to read it. Since I was a little kid I have idolized, probably to a blasphemous level, Todd McFarlane for how talented and ingenious he was in constructing his empire and marketing his creations. He is, in my opinion, to comics what Gene Simmons and KISS are to music. Hell, all Todd needs to do is form a Hard Rock band and I think he'd have covered all the bases KISS have. Combine him with Robert Kirkman, who writes overall the best comics today and has sucked me headfirst into Invincible (the best superhero comic you probably aren't reading), Ryan Ottley, artist on Invincible, and Greg Capullo, art god, and you have me by the proverbial balls.
Haunt reads like a comic from the 1990s, but in all the good ways. The nineties got a lot of flack from the comic fandom once they had hit the 2000s and much of it is deserved, especially from a marketing and variant cover perspective, but I really never found it to be a bad era for artists, designs or fun and exciting stories. Sure, it somewhat appeals to nostalgia, but Haunt has a well constructed, dark but not overbearing plot, is filled with characters who have been fleshed out beyond just their clear cookie-cutter cliche basis, which allows the reader to quickly identify what type of character they are and look for how they will begin to break the mould. Kirkman, for me, has never shown me any sign of not knowing what he is doing and when Haunt caught a lot of early flak for how much it read like a comic from the 90s, I knew it was because Kirkman wanted it to be that way and thet he would easily bring the series beyond just being a 90s homage into something that is worth following along, and so far he has done it with spades.
The art is a perfect blend of modern and retro 90s in the first arc of the story. This is very clearly due to the nature of the creative process employed on those issues, with Capullo doing layouts, Ottley doing pencils and Mcfarlane inking the whole shebang. It resulted in a wondrous energy being present in the art an d I could, upon careful inspection, even point out and identify each artist's contributions to the overall aesthetic of the pages.
The first volume, in trades, really just deals with a solid origin story that doesnt really reveal everything. The best comparison I can think of while writing this (which i am doing mostly late at night, couple of days in a row, in preparation for Thursday) is to the opening act of a good superhero movie, with two more acts to come before the storyline is mostly wrapped up and we expect to be left with an ending that hints at a sequel... so, kind of like the first Iron man film, except with a little less origin to rest of plot ratio.
If you have enjoyed the work of Kirman or McFarlane over the years, or you are a fan of 90s comics who is looking for something to recapture that nostalgic buzz and not drop the ball on it, then you should give Haunt a chance (and for what Amazon is charging, I can honestly say I've spent more money on worse trades *coughWantedcough*
Savage Dragon
As I had mentioned before I have long loved and intended on seriously following Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon. I have a bunch of random issues from my childhood, but it wasn't until he released that FCBD book that I really found a good jumping on point (and, being who I am, I also intend on back-tracking and collecting the entire series as singles). Now that I have jumped on board I am exceedingly happy to have done so.
Talking about Larsen as an artist and as a writer is a difficult thing. Not because it is hard to describe, but because I don't want to come off as trashing him. His art is still fun, still Larsen, still channeling Jack Kirby... but when I compare it to earlier issues in the series it has gotten less tight and detailed and more sketchy and bold stroked. It isn't my favourite change, but it doesn't hamper the storytelling at all. In some cases it may even benefit it, especially in some of the more hectic and violent fight scenes, where the sketchiness and the thick black lines really serve to heighten the impact of a frantic, hectic fight....and sometimes I think he's just being lazy.
His writing is rife with riffs on other comics and storylines, it pokes fun at the Big 2 constantly and still manages to have its own worthwhile story to tell. It might not always be the most original storylines, but Larsen injects it with enough Larsenocity that it becomes fun and absurd and, yet, I don't dislike it the way I dislike the absurdity that is most of Deadpool's appearances.
Larsen's Savage Dragon is both safe and unexpected. I know that the art and writing team isn't going anywhere and that I will always enjoy what happens because, for all the flaws the art has developped and the campiness of the writing this book is still fun (which is something that can't be said for many books drawn technically better and written more seriously etc.). It is harder to reccomend this book than the other two, as I don't have as solid reasoning for why it is good as I do with them. But, trust me, it is good and it is fun and I look forward to it every month probably more than the other two because I never fear that it will dissapoint me (as i do with the creative team change on Power Girl) or bitch and moan about it not coming out regularly (which Haunt is developing as a bad habit). Hell, just grab some back issues or something and check it out for yourself. Have some fun: Have some Savage Dragon!
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