The Pull-list: 3-7-07

Hey, look! It's our old pal, The Pull-list! Let's grab a mocha-frappa-something and get reacquainted, whad'ya say?

52 #44: So … Sobek, huh? I’ve been enjoying 52 so far, and I’ve got to admit the steadily darkening tone has me curious about what’s next. Still, I was prepared for the death of the Question, and I dug the burned-out detective shtick of Ralph Dibney, but the whole talking-croc-eating-a-young-hero thing caught me off-guard. I’m still not even sure how I feel about the way the scene was handled (“vaguely disappointed” comes to mind), but I do know I’m curious to see how this whole “World War” business 52 has been building toward finally turns out. I just hope they remember that less really can be more.

Borrowed Time #2: Remember the first installment of Borrowed Time? Me too, but just barely since Volume 1 came out in May 2006. But in spite of taking almost a year between chapters, this title made enough of an impact with clean, moody art and a subtly spooky plot that I’m looking forward to picking up where I left off. I’ll have to re-read Volume 1 so I can remember what’s going on first, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As long as we don’t have to wait another year for Volume 3.

Captain America #25: Well! Look at Marvel trying to be cute with its “classified information.” Feh! It just means no picture for you, Captain America! Actually, Cap can get away with the Web site blackout because this has consistently been one of the publisher’s better titles, with a storyline that’s affected by the Civil War storyline but isn’t bogged down by it. It seems pretty obvious that Brubaker had a story to tell before that bloated “event” kicked off, and he hasn’t let it keep him from telling a lean and muscular espionage yarn. Holy crap, did I just say “yarn?”

Fall of Cthulhu #0: The titles coming out of Boom! Studios have been kind of hit-or-miss for me, often suffering from what seem like strong starts out of the gate only to end up sort of meandering over to a shiny hot dog stand instead of crossing the finish. But man, they really hit it when it comes to the Cthulhu Mythos, so you’d better believe I’m ready for this regular series. The Cthulhu Tales one-shots got me hooked, and now I’ll get to mainline my Mythos on a regular basis.

Manhunter #29: Fighting its way back from imminent death not once but twice, maybe Manhunter will now find the audience it deserves. Great characterization and a richly human hero made the title a favorite of mine from the beginning, but for some reason it’s struggled to find the numbers needed to keep the publishers from poking it with the cancellation stick. Supposedly the title is back for good, so make sure you put this on your montly must-get list now that you’ve got another chance.

Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil #2 (of 4): Whenever a character gets the “reimagining” treatment, it almost never turns out too well. Someone always ends up EXTREME! Maybe with some shiny new armor. EXTREME!! And a troubled past. EXTREME!!!! Writer and artist Jeff Smith doesn’t do any of this, and gets his retelling of the Captain Marvel origin damn near perfect. All the familiar background elements are there, but Smith makes them his own and even manages to add to the Marvel mythology in ways that make sense. If there isn’t more to come after this four-parter ends, then there is no Wizard Shazam.

Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #8 (of 8): Speaking of extreme makeovers, Uncle Sam is a grittier version of ye old Freedom Fighters (am I the only one who still digs on the All-Star Squadron?), but a fairly solid plot and interesting characterization has kept me hooked all the way to the end. The art tends to get distracting, but also pays off with plenty of iconic images; to be honest, if another artist ever takes over these Freedom Fighters, it’ll probably look weird to me now.

And maybe …

Dynamo 5 #1

Jefferey Brown’s Feeble Attempts #1

Strongarm #1