Weekly Pull List 2-26-14

Well I'm back. Last week was a short week as well as this week. I only have 2 new books to discuss so I'll review a trade or two I've read. First up Amazing X-Men 4 came out last week. It's a great continuation of Wolverine and friends through hell whilst trying to find Nightcrawler. Beast and Storm had come across Azazel last issue when Beast got stabbed in the back which makes him go a little nuts. Which is when Nightcrawler shows up!! He gathers the rest of the lost X-Men and they prepare for the final battle with Azazel's fleet. It's a great book. The writing is spot on and rather compelling. Jason Aaron works well with his pacing. This story flows great and leaves you wanting more. The art is decent but it's still a little juvenile, which actually does work for the light-hearted nature of the book. Story-wise I like most of the characters involved. Nightcrawler has been a favorite since the intro to the second film where he assaults the White House. I'm not a huge fan of Wolverine in general, but his interactions with Northstar are handled well enough for me to care about both of them. I've always liked Storm, apart from her hairstyle in the recent series. Firestar is a new character for me, but works as a foil to Ice Man. Loving this book and am really glad I took a chance based on Jason Aaron and the cover for issue 1. 4.5 out of 5.

Now for this week. I picked up Serenity Leaves on the Wind 2.The crew of the Serenity take Zoe to a medical ship. When the alliance get wind of it they rush to capture them forcing Mal to leave her behind.They contemplate how to get the alliance to give up Zoe so River decides to go into a coma to try to remember what other secrets they told her when another ship docks with them and Jayne Cobb appears with Bea. When Mal tries to get them to leave they realize Bea's crew has been killed by an old acquaintance. Where the first issue was quite a bit of setup, this issue turns the game on and gets the ball rolling. It's interesting to see how the dynamics have shifted since the Serenity movie. Mal and Jayne are at odds, which was hinted at happening during the show. They've now built up the conflict between Mal and crew and the Alliance, some good internal conflict twixt the crew and the imminent danger of an intruder lurking on the serenity. All of these plots are interesting and promise to unfold in classic Whedon glory. I love Zach's work and the voice sounds just like the show. The art still feels more along the lines of Buffy, but it's all good for this story. All around great book. 4 out of 5.