The Pull-list: 3-14-07

Wow, it looks like a short week for the Post. Luckily for me, this week's all about quality, not quablah-blah-blah! Let's go!

52 #45: Funny how things turn around, isn't it? Not funny-ha-ha, more like funny oh-my-God-am-I-stepping-on-intestines? For the most part, I'm still enjoying 52, but I don't think I'd say it's as much fun as it had been in the first two-thirds of its run. The storyline has taken a much darker turn in the last few issues, and the transition has been a little jarring. Overall it continues to be a solid story, and honestly there hasn't been anything in the plot that doesn't make at least some kind of sense, but shouldn't readers get a little more warning before you start slapping them around? Then again, you can bet Black Adam's gonna snap and that bastard's crazy.

B.P.R.D.: Garden of Souls #1 (of 5): Mike Mignola long ago set a high bar for himself and his collaborators with the world of Hellboy, and that bar keeps inching up. Subtle horror-action stories stay true to the background while still building on it, and at the same time weave in almost invisible plot lines between stories to keep everything tied together. Top it off with well-chosen art and you've got a modern classic that continues to build on it's own mythology. Don't believe me? Blasphemer! Why don't you check out the preview, you dirty non-believer. Dirty, dirty ... um ... sorry, what were we talking about?

The Damned #5: Hands-down, this has been one of my favorite mini-series of the last 12 months or so; if there is a god - or a devil - there'll be more of The Damned after it wraps things up with this final issue. I've mentioned before how much I've enjoyed this series, and it's a gift that keeps on giving. A nice little noir mystery is wrapped up in a world of demon gangsters, an undying flunky anti-hero and an ex-girlfriend who's now the moll of a mob boss (you decide which is the most dangerous). And did I mention that the art is awesome? 'Cause it is.

Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse #6: Huh ... the list is certainly heavy on the supernatural this week, ain't it? Can I help it if there's been a nice little rise in quality horror-based comics? Can I?!? The answer is yes, by buying the good stuff like Wormwood and encouraging everyone out there to fork it over, too. Look at this preview. There's great, tongue-in-rotting-cheek characters, a fun story with an undercurrent of menace, and beautifully unique artwork that gets better with every issue - seriously, how can you resist pit-fighting leprechauns? Or a demon-worm occupying the corpse of a little girl? You can't, so just stop trying.