The Pull List (3-17-10): What I'm reading this week

The reading list is all over the place this week, ranging from superheroes to kid comics to whatever you want to call the stuff Grant Morrison does, but the title I was most curious about came as a surprise even to myself.

Green Arrow #31 is dove-tailing out of the Blackest Night saga, as well as the goings-on in his own book. To be honest, I haven't been keeping up with Green Arrow for a while, in spite of him being one of my favorite superhero characters. I tried getting back on the GA train, but was quickly derailed by the whole "Cupid" storyline and was about to give up for good when DC started promising big changes for the Emerald Archer.

Now look, I don't normally fall for the whole "this will be the year everything changes for So-and-So!" stuff you get from the promotional arms of the Big Two. Those are some flabby, sweaty arms and they like to repeat themselves every few months or so by telling readers something monumental is going to happen, something that's going to turn a character upside down ... for a few months. Maybe a year. And then it's back to the status quo and nothing really changed after all.

So I rolled my eyes when DC started crowing about a new direction for Green Arrow, complete with "secrets will be revealed!" But then Black Lantern: Green Arrow #30 written by J.T Krul was pretty good, so I was intrigued to find out he'd be the regular writer on the title (even if it was the beginning of yet another crossover mini-event — oy).

I won't be picking up the Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal part of the equation, but I'll be sticking around for The Fall of Green Arrow, mostly because Krul has done enough to lure me in with the idea of a literally out-for-blood Green Arrow who is at odds with the hero community and, most importantly, with the person he used to be. This first issue in the Rise and Fall storyline gives readers a look at an Oliver Queen on the edge, helping average citizens after Prometheus destroyed the heart of his city and killing hundreds of thousands of people, but doing it almost as an afterthought as he tracks down the villain's accomplice with every intention of killing him in cold blood.

It's an interesting premise, especially considering Green Arrow's reputation for putting a premium on fairness and social justice. That said, this issue didn't really move things along and felt more like a place-setter, re-introducing characters we already know and giving readers plenty of exposition to catch them up on what's been going on. Really, though, you can't blame Krul or the editors — this is definitely a good jumping-on point, and even if you haven't been reading Green Arrow, you'll be caught up with the basics after this issue. Hopefully the plot will move forward now that the scene has been set and all the characters are in place.

Green Arrow #31 is also a nice comic to look at, thanks to the work of artist Federico Dallocchio. Dallochio's work isn't flawless — faces sometimes look odd, and a scene will occasionally come across as static — but for the most part it's good stuff. Action scenes are subtly dynamic and facial expressions (with the exception of a slightly-off kisser here and there) are expressive.

All in all, a suddenly interesting book that has the potential to go in even more interesting directions.


Here's what else I picked up this week:

Joe the Barbarian #3

Muppet King Arthur #3

Superman 80-Page Giant #1

Uncle Scrooge #389


And what I wanted to get, but will be waiting for the trade:

American Vampire #1 (beautiful Rafael Albuquerque art)

Guardians of the Galaxy #24

The Pull List (2-10-10): What I'm not getting this week

Suddenly, it's late in the day and I've got to assume most people have either picked up their comics or have already decided what titles they'll be getting this week. So instead of telling you what I'm planning to get once I make it to my LCS, here's a few comics I WON'T be getting:

Green Arrow/Black Canary #29: I actually really want to get this, as much as I want to really enjoy a Green Arrow comic again. But I'm afraid neither one will be happening today, as tempted as I am by art that's been finished by Bill Sienkiewicz. The recent storyline — something about an obsessed Arrow fan who suddenly can hold her own in a superhero fight or something? — has left me cold, and a constantly brooding Ollie gets old really fast. And while this is the last issue in the current storyline, the promos for the upcoming one trumpeting "spinning out of Justice League: Cry for Justice" don't exactly fill me with hope.


Human Target #1: Look, I love the Human Target, both it's Silver Age version and the excellent reimagining by Peter Milligan. And I was initially excited to see one of Christopher Chance's creators, Len Wein, would be writing a six-issue mini-series starring the master-of-disguise, deep-undercover bodyguard. Except, that's not what Wein will be doing. Instead, the series will more closely follow the recently kicked-off TV series, which has done away completely with everything that made Human Target interesting — namely the disguise angle, and all the questions about identity and Chance's eroding sense of self that went with it. Why is this called Human Target, again?


Hit-Monkey #1: No. No, no, no, no, no. I refuse to slip into Marvel's latest meme-trap. I gave up on the zombies, and I managed to completely ignore the monkeys the first time, so I will not fall for an obviously silly story about an ape with a gun and ... and ...

... monnnkeeeeys ...



(Oh, OK — and here's what I will be getting this week:)

Anchor #5

Batman and Robin #8

Booster Gold #29

Daytripper #3

Muppet King Arthur #1

Muppet Show #2


Preview: Green Arrow/Black Canary #29
Preview: Human Target #1
Preview: Hit-Monkey #1

Adventures in Sound — Part 3

Panel from Green Arrow #2 (of 4)
Letterer: Ben Oda

Between here and there

I'll be on the road most of today, but regular posting will pick up again tomorrow. So it's a date? Awesome!

As usual, whenever we here at GCP HQ are gearing up for a road trip, we like to remember the words of that highway philosopher and asphalt poet ... Mr. Oliver Queen:


You said it, Ollie ... you said it.

Back tomorrow, kids!

Cookin' with Green Arrow

Well, crap.

Through my own foot-dragging and my wife's generosity, I've been screwed! Betrayed!

OK, not "betrayed" and it's my own fault really, but let me give you some background. Every year the company I work for has a big Halloween party/chili contest. Yeah, I know, right? Chili contest?! I've asked around and no one knows how it started or why, but along with the costumes and ubiquitous cobwebs there are also 10 to 15 crock pots filled with different recipes for chili at the Halloween party. Once you get your mind around it, it's kind of a neat tradition. Nonsensical, but cool.

Anyway, I've always avoided entering the contest because:

1. I'm lazy

2. I've always wanted to use my dad's recipe, but can never find it, and

3. Did I mention I'm lazy?

By now you're saying to yourself: That's great, Chef Boyardee-minus, but what the hell does this have to do with comics? Some of you might have figured this out already, but if you haven't, it has to do with this:

Click for a chili reception! (Ouch - sorry)

Yes, this year I was going to enter, and it was going to be with Green Arrow's famous chili recipe, the bowl of red that's been featured and referred to by Ollie ever since I can remember and which was finally put down in writing in Green Arrow Secret Files & Origins #1. Notoriously spicy and representing one of GA's more endearing character quirks, I was getting more and more excited about unleashing this on my unsuspecting coworkers and (dare I hope?) maybe even winning the contest! With nerd-power!!

And then my wife lent out the crock pot.

Nooooooo! I mean, I could just make it in a pot, but that's kind of a pain in the ass and ... well, go read points one and three again. Of course, it's my own damn fault — the sign-up sheet was posted a few weeks ago, and a couple of people in my department already put themselves down for chili duty (they ask for two entries from every section). Since my wife hadn't seen any chili-related movement from me, she naturally assumed I'd decided to pass and wouldn't need the crock pot (which, at this point, was running feral on top of the fridge).

Still ... I don't think there's anything saying there can't be more than two entries from each department. And personally, I've always wanted to see what this chili tasted like. And I do like chili ...

Hmmmm ...