The Pull List (2-4-09): The Universe is gonna get its ass kicked

It might be late in the day, but it's never too late for comics! Here's what I'm picking up this week:

Scott Pilgrim Vol. 5: Scott Pilgrim vs the Universe (trade paperback):

YES.

OK, a little more detail: Scott Pilgrim is, without a doubt, one of the best series out there. Joyously silly with a relentlessly real undercurrent of what it's like to become that thing called a "grown-up," Scott Pilgrim is the story of the best fighter/slacker in Canada; his mysterious space-warping girlfriend and her Seven Evil Exes; and his lovably snarky gang of friends. Blending video game call-outs with the often awkward befuddlement that can come with a developing relationship, the series walks a line between goofy and deep with nearly perfect balance.

Plus, it's just a lot of fun. Download a sample comic and give it a try.


Also getting ...

Adventure Comics #0

Agents of Atlas #1

Cthulhu Tales #11

Fall of Cthulhu: Apocalypse #3

Kull #4


Maybe ...

Bang Tango #1

Jersey Gods #1

Magic Touch Vol. 1

The Mighty #1

Otomen Vol. 1

Soul Kiss #1


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

Age of the Sentry #5

Comic Book Comics #3

El Diablo #6

Tiny Titans Vol. 1: Welcome to the Treehouse (TPB)


Recommended ...

MySpace Dark Horse Presents Vol. 2 (TPB)

Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book 1 (hardcover)

Black and white and dread all over?

When the latest 12 rounds of Friday Night Fights ended about a week ago, ringmaster Bahlactus laid down the ground rules for the next bout by declaring all entries had to be in black and white. This, of course, made me think of Joe.

Joe is a friend of mine who I used to work with at a comic shop here in town. He's a great guy and has some of the best stories I've ever heard, not to mention a mean Schwarzenegger-as-Conan imitation. He's also a big comics fan, and like a lot of us he's got his quirks. His love of Batman is enormous, and his full-on obsession with sidekicks is even bigger. The guy loved him some Spoiler, and he was pissed when DC killed her off.

But the thing that threw me off was his refusal to read anything in black and white.

I'd seen this attitude before, of course. But it surprises me every single time. I don't get it. What is it about black and white comics that makes people — who will otherwise read just about any crap they come across — suddenly and violently allergic?

My theory is a combination of fanboyism and indieism (it's my theory, I can make up words if I want). See, I think a good portion (if not nearly all) of the comic reading population starts out with superhero comics. I know I did. And I'd guess that a chunk of those folks never stray too far from that genre.

(Quick aside: Can we all agree that comics are a medium and there are different genres within that medium? Thanks, that's been bugging me.)

Historically, these comics are in bright and energetic full color, which makes sense considering the stories tend to be cranked up to 11. It fits. So-called indie comics, on the other hand, are often printed in black and white. A lot of that has to do with smaller publishers and printing costs (as a very rough example, consider how much it costs to make a regular black and white copy versus a full-color copy at Kinko's), and sometimes the type of stories many indie comics are telling are better suited to black and white. It helps set the tone for the story.

Here's the crux of the problem, I think: Indie comics have a reputation. Even people who know better tend to think of words like "navel-gazing," "autobiography" and "whining emo-ass" when they hear the phrase "indie comic." They also think "no color." Right or wrong, a lot of people equate black and white with these preconceived notions and reach a simple conclusion: Black and white equals boring.

Which is a shame, because while there are some painfully self-referential black and white books out there (just like there are corny, immature and exploitative superhero books giving the good stuff a bad name), there's some excellent reading these people are missing out on. Just off the top of my head there's the Scott Pilgrim series, the Queen and Country series, Wasteland, The Damned, Pantheon High, Local, Emo Boy, Rex Libris, Phonogram, Action Philosophers and The Nearly Infamous Zango. And those books run from thriller to action to comedy to science fiction and everywhere in-between. Only one could be considered navel-gazey, but you've got to have a balanced diet, right? (Also, it's excellent.)

Don't get me started on the manga-hate out there.

Ultimately, it's a matter of preconceived notions that keep people from reading a black and white comic (and vice versa — it wouldn't kill the hard-core indie contingent to read Superman once in a while). Some comic book readers might think a black and white comic would be boring, but someone's buying all those Essentials and Showcases, right?

Which brings me back to Joe. At some point he got hooked on the Gunslinger Girl anime and tore through all the DVDs he could get his hands on. So one day we're at the counter and I overheard him talking to someone about the series.

"It's really, really good," he said. "But y'know, I read the first book and there was a lot of detail in there that was cut from the anime. There was a lot more about the characters' backgrounds. Really interesting."

My ears pricked up like a dog hearing a can opener: Was Joe saying he read the manga version of the series? The black and white manga version of the series?!

Joe gave me a look that made me think he was going to pat my head like an indulgent uncle.

"Yeah I read the book," he said. "It's good."

I'm curious to know what you think: Do you read black and white comics, or do you have a strict color-only policy? Do you only read black and white? Or are the racks your comics smorgasbord, where you pick up a little bit of everything? There's a new poll you can answer on the right, and I'd love to hear your opinions in the comments.

Scott Pilgrim in 'New York'

For those of us who haven't had a chance to get our mitts on the long-awaited and just-released Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, there's a full-color preview of the first few pages to check out at New York Magazine's site. Whether this will whet your appetite or lead to a full-on feeding frenzy I leave to your discretion.

The Pull List: 11-14-07

Wow, what a week for comics! There is so much good stuff coming out this Wednesday that I'll probably squeal like a little girl when I hit the shop later this afternoon. Enough preamble — to the list!

World War Hulk #5: With this fifth and final issue, the entertainingly over-the-top "Hulk-beats-on-everyone" storyline wraps up, and I can only assume it will be as wonderfully ridiculous as the rest of the mini-series.

I haven't been reading the various tie-ins but I don't feel as if I've missed anything, so this has been a fairly satisfying little collection. And why wouldn't it be? The concept is hard to screw up (gladiator-Hulk comes back to Earth with his alien-warrior posse to vent his rage on the heroes he believes killed his new family and destroyed his adopted planet), especially if you keep to the tight storytelling demanded by the limited series. Add to that the raw, muscular power that comes across in what is some of John Romita, Jr.'s best work in years and you've got a comic that remembers what made us all love the Hulk in the first place — sheer, widespread destruction.

Also, I hope he beats the living CRAP out of the Sentry. I hate that guy.


The rest ...

All-Star Superman #9

Atomic Robo #2

Booster Gold #4
(Is this actually coming out this week? Every list I've looked at says "yes," the DC site says "not until Nov. 28.")

BPRD: Killing Ground #4

Thor #4


Maybe ...

The Atheist #4: I really liked this series when it first started — A BILLION YEARS AGO! Frankly, I don't know if I can work up the interest anymore.

Batman and The Outsiders #1: I just realized I don't have any Batman titles on my regular pull, which seems strange and wrong. The original Outsiders used to be a favorite, but I can't decide whether or not I can get into the new team. On the plus side: No Geo-Force.

Captain Marvel #1: Let's take a look at the solicitation copy ... "From the pages of 'Civil War ...'" Yeah, probably not, then.

Project DOA Vol. 1: A manga that sounds like a combination of pulp super-science and Indiana Jones-style globetrotting? It's just a good thing no one has figured out how to inject this stuff directly into the bloodstream. This looks like a lot of fun, and probably worth picking up.

Wonder Woman #14: So here's my dilemma. I'm a fan of Wonder Woman as a character, but I haven't been very interested in reading her solo adventures. No one seems to write her well and her characterization has been all over the place for years, making it hard to feel invested in the Amazon-princess-ambassador-superhero-spy. On the other hand — Gail Simone takes over with this issue.

Crap. I'm going to end up buying this, aren't I?


Recommended ...

If you've got the cash and anything resembling a human soul, you must pick up all of these books ... all of them.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier (hardcover)

Scott Pilgrim Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together

Showcase Presents: Sgt. Rock Vol. 1

The lame-ass return of GCP

So I seem to have finally gotten over the hump that is Work, but I'm just too tired to post anything substantial, much less anything about the MJ statue debate making the rounds.

I will say this, though: When I saw the statue, my first reaction was, "Oh, c'mon." Seriously, it's a ridiculous piece of merchandise. And yes, it's demeaning to women (and, in a much, much smaller way, to comic fans in general - I guess they figure we're all still in mom's basement, eh?). And of course some people are overreacting, and many more are underreacting, but hopefully all this heat will begin to generate some light.

There's been a lot of back-and-forth going on about the cheesecakiness of this statue (and others), and what it means in the greater scheme of things for how women are portrayed in the comics media, but so far I think I most like what Laura Hudson had to say. It's straight-forward, thoughtful and packed with common-sense, so go read it.

Speaking of cool, can you believe I just recently read Scott Pilgrim? I don't know what took me so long, either, but this weekend I read all three volumes that have been published, and I'm hooked.

Out of hundreds of pages of awesome, this may have been my favorite scene:


Scott Pilgrim - lovable jerk.