The Pull List (4-9-08): Simone, Amazons and the royal treatment

OK, I think I'm finally kicking that addictive laziness that comes from taking a few days off from work and I just had some chips and salsa, which for me have the same affect that Super Energy Vitamin Pills had on Underdog. So what, you ask?

So ... to the list!

Wonder Woman #19: I'll admit it: I was never a big fan of Wonder Woman. Wait, that's not entirely true. I was a huge fan of the 1970s TV show, but I think that had more to do with Lynda Carter and my nascent awareness of girls than any real fondness for the character. For the most part I followed the comic book Wonder Woman through her adventures with the Justice League or by catching her during guest appearances in other titles. In the years (and years) I've been reading comics that's pretty much been the MO where the Amazon princess has been concerned, especially since most reviews of her solo books weren't usually ringing endorsements. Basically, when it came to Wonder Woman I just wasn't interested.

Gail Simone changed that.

Simone is one of the more reliable — and frankly, one of the best — writers working in comics today. Simone is known for a creative style that puts imaginative plotting and tooth-rattling action hand-in-hand with naturalistic dialog and never-too-cute humor to create books that are just fun to read. Wonder Woman is no exception, and for the first time in ever I'm buying the title on a regular basis.

There's always talk about the trouble writers have with the character of Wonder Woman, how no one seems to "get" her. It would be tempting to say that Simone gets it because she's a woman (the first ongoing female writer the title's ever had), but that wouldn't be fair to either her or the character. Simone is just a good writer who understands the complexity of this hero, and that's something Wonder Woman — and its readers — have been waiting for, for a long time.

I could go on, but I'll leave it with just four final words describing the current storyline: Wonder Woman in space. WONDER WOMAN IN SPACE. Download the preview and give it a try.


The rest ...

Booster Gold #8

Justice Society of America #14

Wasteland #16

Wormwood, Gentleman Corpse: Calamari Rising #3 (of 4)


Trading up ...
(Titles I either am, or will be, picking up in trade)

BPRD: 1946 #4

Criminal #2 (but maybe the singles instead since the jam-packed extras won't be in the trade)

The Exterminators #28 (this over-the-top series ends with #30)

Suburban Glamour #4 (of 4)


Maybe ...

Aqua Leung Vol. 1: Neither the plot nor the overly familiar art style of this graphic novel grab me, but people whose opinion I trust have been talking it up so I'm curious. This is one I'll actually have to flip through in the shop before I can decide whether to pick it up or not.

Batman: Death Mask #1 (of 4): It'll seem like blasphemy to some, but I don't read any Batman titles. It didn't happen on purpose; I just sorta fell out of it. So I was thinking a nice, self-contained mini-series would be a good way to get my Dark Knight fix, but I'm not sure this will be it. The storyline of a mysterious killer who might be linked to Batman's past is played out, and the indistinct art is the kind that gives non-manga readers their ammunition when they complain that it all looks the same. They're wrong, but this ain't helping. Read the preview and let me know what you think.

Number of the Beast #1 (of 8): Superheroes and the Biblical end of the world? I love that idea, especially when you stop to ask, "Wait — why didn't these 'good guys' ascend into heaven with everyone else?" Hmmm ...

Titans #1: Y'know, I used to dig the Teen Titans, and the art on this looks sharp. Maybe it's time to give them another sho ... oh. Judd Winick? Never mind.