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?

The Pull List (4-1-08): Busy, busy, busy!

I haven't done a pull list in a while — and I'm barely doing one this time! Things have been hectic around here, so here's a quick rundown for this week with random comments as they occur to me. To the list!

This week ...

American Splendor #1 (of 4): If you haven't been reading Harvey Pekar's recent salt-in-the-wound looks at everyday life, then you're a goddamn communist. Or you have a life that's so well-balanced there's something wrong with you. Either one. Also, great work from a variety of artists in every issue.

Metal Men #7 (of 8): I'm still not sure what's going on in this series; I still don't care because it's fun as hell with zippy writing and gorgeous, hard candy shell art.

North Wind #4: Adventure in the frozen wastes of Los Angeles really kinda sells itself, doesn't it? If you still need more, try this on for size: Giant white bison riding (still not a euphemism!).

Zorro #2: I like Zorro, OK? Matt Wagner on writing duty just seals the deal, not to mention I feel as if I missed the boat by not reading Dynamite's Lone Ranger title. If you've read the first issue, be a pal and let me know what you think the prospects are for the second in the comments.


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

Jack Staff #15

Scalped #16


Maybe ...

Countdown Special: Kamandi 80-Page Giant: Aw, crap — that's some serious Kirby right there.


Recommended ...

Jenny Finn: Doom Messiah (trade paperback): A strange and strangely funny story by Mike Mignola that squeezes themes of promise and loss into a potent mash of Lovecraft, steam punk and the salty tang of a seaport town and its citizens. You can tell Mignola had fun with this one; see for yourself with a preview.

Hey kids - online comics!

I just found out about this, but Dark Horse is apparently going to be uploading a chapter of the manhwa Shaman Warrior once a week for all to read, and judging by the first chapter it'll be pretty freakin' awesome. Especially if you're into the sword fighting/touch of mysticism thing — which I am. It doesn't hurt that the art is very strong (the detail, particularly the facial expressions, is great), and there are two major sword fights in the first 32 pages!

I don't know if the publisher is picking up on the strategy Boom! Studios is trying out with North Wind, but between this and Dark Horse Presents it seems like Dark Horse is making a real push in bringing comics online.

Good for them. I don't think e-comics will ever fully replace the usual paper-and-staple, but there's no reason it can't be a viable alternative. And if it introduces people to new titles (I'd never heard of Shaman Warrior before), all the better.

The Pull List (2-6-08): Counting down to OMAC

You know what's the hardest part about putting this thing together? The introduc ... to the list!

Countdown Special: OMAC: So, I haven't been reading Countdown, or any of the Countdown related one-shots, not out of any real ambivalence but mostly just out of a severe case of disinterest. When it first started I tried to figure out what exactly it was counting down to, but then decided I didn't care, especially when several reviews started detailing it as confused and aimless and — worst of all — boring.

It figures it would take something like the One Man Army Corps to break my streak.

How mind-blowing is the very concept of OMAC? Man, OMAC is a character with a name that says it all; when Jack Kirby called him a one-man army corps, he wasn't screwing around. Set sometime in the near-future, OMAC is pure, mohawked Kirby genius, pitting a relentless hero against the kind of off-the-scale action and weirdness that has to be read to be appreciated. Even though there's only one of Kirby's stories featured in this one-shot anthology (a full collection of his run is set for release soon), that alone makes it a good place to start if you're new to the world of Buddy Blank and Brother Eye.


The rest ...

Justice Society of America #12

Metal Men #6

Vinyl Underground #5

North Wind #2

Wasteland #14


Maybe ...

Incognegro: An interesting idea, but one that can either be a thoughtful starting point for discussion, or something that will deliver shallow pontificating at the end of a sledgehammer. Personally, I'm hoping for the best with this story of a black reporter investigating the arrest of his brother by using his lighter skin tone to "pass" for a white man in the early-20th century's American South. The concept is fantastic, and I'm curious to see if the story itself holds up. Curious? Check out the preview.

Gyakushu! Vol. 2: I enjoyed the first volume of Dan Hipp's sorta-samurai revenge manga, but I'm not sure it grabbed me enough to pick up the second. While a lot of interesting groundwork was laid, along with a couple of satisfying fight scenes, for the most part it left me wondering if there was really anything there. The art was great but most of the book seemed to be a series of drawn-out character introductions, and the flashback-within-flashback story structure slowed things down just when the plot seemed as if it should be ramping up. Seriously, I liked it — I just don't know if I liked it enough. (The preview, though, looks awesome.)

Scud: The Disposable Assassin: Man, I used to love Scud — 10 years ago! That is a hell of a long time to wait for a follow-up, and frankly I'm a little worried that — like that hot girl you used to dig — it just won't be the same now. It'll be hard, but I just might end up waiting for the promised omnibus instead. I just hope it doesn't take another decade.


Trading up ...
(These are titles I either am, or will be, picking up in trade)

Abe Sapien: The Drowning #1


Recommended ...

Pantheon High Vol. 2: I pretty much like everything about the first volume of this manga written by local boy Paul Benjamin (y'know, the guy behind Marvel Adventures: Hulk, among other goodness). The art is the standard "manga-style" most people are familiar with, but the story of the children of gods from various cultures going to high school is funny, clever and peppered with just the right amount of action and panty-shots to pull it all together. I've been waiting for the second volume, and thankfully that wait is over. If you're already a fan of manga, or if you've been wondering what all the fuss is about, Pantheon High is worth adding to your list. Want to see for yourself? Read a preview of volume 1!

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