The Pull List (5-14-08): You had me at 'Rocket Racoon'

Free time has been scarce the past couple of days, but there sure seem to be plenty of interesting comics hitting the shelves so let's do this quick-and-dirty — to the list!

This week ...

Guardians of the Galaxy #1: This is the book I'm most looking forward to this week. The folks who put the Annihilation storylines together took all the elements of Marvel's trippy history with the cosmic, entertainingly and intelligently wrapped a couple of massive space-opera style adventure stories around it all, and reintroduced characters that readers fell in love with all over again. And blew stuff up. And brought back a beloved, gun-toting, talking space-raccoon. And now it's all together in a regular monthly with the express intent of forming not a peace-keeping force, but "an ass-kicking force?" Sign me up. You go check out the preview.

Booster Gold #9: This slice of time-traveling hoo-hah continues to be fun, even if I get the feeling Ted's not going to be sticking around much longer. Or is it just me? Either way, I'm enjoying the current storyline but will be glad when it drops the revisit to 52 and gets back to Booster hanging out with Jonah Hex and rear-ending Flash in the time-stream. Geez, that still sounds dirty. Hey look, a preview!

Cthulhu Tales #2: The first issue in this new monthly anthology wasn't the strongest debut, but it was interesting enough to bring me back for the second. Plus I've got strong love for the Cthulhu Mythos so I'm willing to give it time to find its rhythm.

North Wind #5 (of 5): Is it me, or did this start feeling a little rushed? I really like the concept — a post-apocalyptic world that includes a frozen Los Angeles and a man riding a white bison — but it smacks of a slam-bang action movie that decided to ignore the middle of the script in favor of getting to the explosions already. The final issue will either redeem this title for me and match the promise of the first few issues, or will really piss me off. Fingers crossed.

Wonder Woman #20: Where do you go after Wonder Woman in Space? I don't know, but as long as Gail Simone is leading, I'll follow. Simone has reinvigorated this title since she took over as writer, and it's gone from a book I managed to ignore for years to one that is something I look forward to each month. Go read the preview and you'll see what I mean.

Zorro #3: I've always loved the Zorro character, and it's nice to see him getting the Matt Wagner treatment, but here's hoping the story picks up a little. It's interesting, and the art is OK, but I'm still not convinced it won't work better in trade. This issue will be the one that decides whether or not it stays on the monthly list.


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

Casanova #14

Green Lantern Vol. 1: No Fear

Green Lantern Corps #24

Life Sucks (hardcover): First Second is one of my favorite publishers and consistently puts out better-than-average books that I'm always eager to read — the fact they've somehow made me interested in yet another book about vampires should be proof of that. Vampires!


Maybe ...

All-New Iron Manual #1: It's obviously pandering and an attempt to manipulate people excited by the movie ... but I do still love that Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Book of Weapons, Hardware and Paraphernalia ... dammit!

Batman #676: Urgh — Grant Morrison on the one hand, a "comic book event" spinning off into a handful of different titles on the other ... why don't you guys look at the preview and let me know what you think.

Giant-Size Incredible Hulk: A super-sized special highlighting past Hulk stories sounds awesome, but using the plot device of someone writing a book and interviewing "Hulk survivors" sounds a little bit too much like a Front Line thing. Hopefully the interview scenes are used to bridge the older stories, but if they're not then this one will probably be staying on the shelf.

The Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs #1 (of 4): Ha ha ha haaa! No, not really! The art's humdrum, the writing feels forced and it's really just a bald marketing effort to get attention for the sequel to a movie that's taken more than 20 years to make. Tighten up your mullet-perm and download the preview if you've got the strength, but forget vampires — it's nostalgia that's deadly.

Sky Doll #1: I really want to support this comic (and the other comics Marvel is planning to republish from French publisher Soleil), but at twice the cover price of the average comic I think this one might have to wait until it's in trade. This might totally change once I see it in the shop though, 'cause I'm fickle that way.


Recommended ...

Booster Gold Vol. 1: 52 Pick-Up (hardcover)

Hank Ketcham's Complete Dennis the Menace Vol. 1, 1951-1952

What's on your list this week?