The Pull List (1-9-08): So long, Spirit

Wow, only two titles that are definitely being picked up this week? OK, OK, I know I probably won't be able to resist the latest B.P.R.D. offering, but man, talk about your small weeks. Still, there's plenty of other titles to consider giving a good home, so — to the list!

The Spirit #12: Well, it was nice while it lasted. The Spirit has reached its 12th and final issue to be written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke, and even though the title will continue it's essentially the end of one of the best comics currently out there. A lot of people thought it would be impossible for anyone to do Will Eisner's legacy any justice, especially on a regular basis, but Cooke pulled it off with charm, wit and intelligence — hallmarks of what made Eisner's creation so special to begin with — and produced a comic that was just a whole lot of fun.

I've been a fan of Groo creators Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier for a long time, but I have a hard time seeing this new team reaching the bar Cooke has set (particularly when you consider Aragones' so-so showing on his first issue of the recently launched Bat Lash). Is that fair, or even reasonable? Probably not. But it doesn't mean The Spirit — at least as we've come to know it —isn't coming to an end with this issue, either.

In this case, I don't think it would be a bad idea to let the next issue run as a one-shot (it's a stand-alone anyway), and then relaunch with a new #1. Let Cooke's dozen impeccable issues be as self-contained as they already are in the minds of readers.


The rest ...

Infinite Horizon #2


Maybe ...

B.P.R.D.: 1946 #1 (of 5): Look, Dark Horse, why don't I just send you all my money now? If you keep putting out cool stuff like this tale from the early days of the monster-hunting spook squad, you're just going to be getting it anyway. I mean, Mike Mignola writing a B.P.R.D. book that includes the Nazi Occult Bureau and something called "Project Vampir Sturm?" That's not even fair.

Hulk #1: Goodwill left over from World War Hulk made me think I might give this a chance. But then I saw the Red Hulk. And then I saw it's written by Jeph Loeb, who's work I used to like before he went off the rails in an almost Frank Miller-like train wreck of ego and nuttiness. And then I read this solicit: "When one of The Hulk's oldest cast members is murdered, everyone turns to the team of Iron Man, She-Hulk and Leonard Samson to solve the grizzly case." Grizzly case? Unless a bear is somehow involved, I think they meant "grisly" — not exactly inspiring confidence there, Marvel. Unless a homicidal bear really is mixed up in there. Because that would be awesome.

North Wind #1: Boom Studios is doing something interesting with this new title set in a near-future Ice Age by releasing it online (in partnership with MySpace) at the same time it's released in print. The whole issue. The whole series. For free. And you know what? It might work. The first issue is already up and it's well-written and exceptionally well-drawn, and even though I've already read it online I'll probably still pick it up in print because I ALREADY KNOW I LIKE IT! Go read it, and then go buy it.


Recommended ...

BRPD Vol. 7: Garden of Souls

Conan Vol. 5: The Blood-Stained Crown and Other Stories