Thursday, September 25, 2014

Weekly Pull List 9-24-14


Surprisingly big week this week. Went into the shop expecting 4 books and came out with 3 of those and 3 others. I'll start with Mr. Kirkman's Outcast 4 from Image. This book is still sufficiently creepy and dark. Kyle and the Reverend agree to help out a detective who believes his ex-partner, who is currently in jail, was possessed. They show up to the prison and the book ends with a very ominous man awaiting their interrogation. I really like Kyle's super power of having an innate ability to hurt demons possessing humans. It's something new and exciting I haven't seen before. This is some of Kirkman's finest work. Great work all around. The art by Paul Azaceta perfectly captures the mystical side of the story. Wonderful book. 4.5 out of 5.


Now over to Marvel for Storm 3. A solid issue that continues in the vein of the first two.  This series has been a little too much "let's save the environment because Storm has weather powers." It's not bad. just seems to be the same story over and over. The best part of this issue is a man named forge has made a weather device which makes it rain. This device would be incredibly cool and powerful. I would be amazed if something like that actually existed. Anyways, decent book. Not my favorite. Probably the next book I will drop, but I'll see if it picks up in the next couple issues. 2.5 out of 5.
Loki Agent of Asgard 6 is my next book. And it is brilliant. The entire story is a battle of wits between Dr. Doom and Loki and I was enthralled the entire time. This is a March to Axis issue which just makes me want to pick up the other lead-in issues. This mini event is promising to be a very solid story. I'm not overly into the over-arching story in this book, but each  issue continues to keep my interest and show me something new. Brilliance! 4 out of 5.


Another March to Axis is over in Magneto 10. A majority of this issue is spent inside Magneto's head as Red Skull uses his stolen Xavier powers to play literal mind games with him. It serves as a telling and personal look into Erik's psyche. Very nicely written by Cullen Bunn (as usual) and the art by Fernandez and Walta is quite brilliant. There's homages and style changes as different memories come up and reflect older eras and designs of the characters. It's quite excellent. 4.5 out of 5.


Now over to Boom! studios for The Empty Man 4. This book is quite similar to the Outcast book. A pair of unlikely partners hunting down mysterious paranormal forces. This issue takes a hard left from mysterious horror towards a ghost invasion story. Solid issue, but it didn't quite hold up to the others. This one felt less new to me. A little more familiar and therefore less exciting. I'd have to give this a 3.5 out of 5.


Last up is Sixth Gun 43. Another step toward the final showdown. The entire one-off cast makes a brief appearance to let the reader know what they know about the end of the world. Not much else to say. It continues where the story is going and still promises to pay off well. 3.5 out of 5.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Weekly Pull List August-September 2014


Well I moved. I have now caught up on my comics purchases and am mostly moved in out east so it's time to catch up. I will start off over at image. Velvet number 7 follows Colt and Roberts as they work counter-espionage on the official side of things. It's another brilliant issue. Brubaker and Epting are still a glorious pair. Beautifully realistic art really makes me wish it was a TV show. It would be incredibly awesome to see this on a high quality network like AMC or HBO. 5 out of 5.


Next up is Lazarus 11. Conclave part 1 has a wonderful scene exploring the politics of the world. Seeing interactions between two Lazaruses (Lazari?) is always interesting A lot of buildup and anticipation for something that I'm not sure where it's going to go. We're at the peak of the chain lift on the roller coaster getting ready to go over the edge. 4 out of 5.


Now over to DC. We have two Futures End tie-ins. The first is Justice League United which is a surprisingly interesting story. A classic "getting the band back together" story set in the future. Several members of the old JLU congregate to hunt down the Martian Manhunter, who has been captured by Gorilla Grodd and the guy behind the whole thing: Captain Atom!?! it's a decent story. I was interested enough to want to go get the next part of the story in the Justice League tie in. I want to read the main story, but I really wish it was much shorter. 52 is a lot of commitment for a mediocre story. I'll give it 3.5 out of 5 for a surprise ending, even though they just seem to be trying way too hard to find a place for Captain Atom in the New 52. 


The other tie in is Green Arrow which is a solid issue. It's a nice wrap up to this creative team. Has a few nice callbacks and such to other moments in the recent issues. Oliver fakes his own death on live TV in a fight with Deathstroke only to realize it was Magus. His sister Emiko is acting as the Green Arrow in Seattle. Not a bad issue. Sorrentino is amazing as usual. Another book that piques my interest in the Futures End story. 4 out of 5.


Last book from DC is Batman '66 meets the Green Hornet 4. Comic hilarity continues as the two teams continue to torment each other due to ill timed torment from the kings of crime. Another middle story that serves its purpose and not much else. Fun book all around, but I'm glad it's only six issues so I can get the next two and not have to worry about it any more. 3 out of 5.


Now over to Marvel! First up is Nightcrawler 6. This issue follows Kurt and the young Rico as they hunt down the mysterious mutant girl that the pirates are also after. An exciting battle ensues and they manage to rescue her. A fun story that doesn't seem to have any real impact on the world as a whole, apart from introducing the new mutant, Ziggy, and the mysterious bossman who promises his revenge. Another fun series that I will probably not be picking up anymore as it is not very exciting. It's a few minutes of joy, but I have no real connection to it and am trying to buy fewer comics. 2.5 out f 5.


Next up we have 3 issues in the Thor saga: Thor and Loki The Tenth Realm 4 and 5 and Thor God of Thunder 25. Battles rage until Loki brings Odin out of his prison in Asgard and back to the Tenth Realm. He halts the war upon realizing Angela is his long-lost daughter. Which begs the question: Have they truly never met before? Apparently not as Odin isn't around nearly as much as he seems to be and Angela showed up about 20 years ago and was mostly a Spawn character until merely a few years ago when she starting hanging out with the Guardians of the Galaxy. A mildly anticlimactic ending to the tale, but it works as a great setup to the new Thor series as Thor gets told a secret by Fury in Original Sin that makes him unworthy to wield the hammer. Making way for a lady Thor in a new upcoming series. In issue 25, King Thor's granddaughters are reading ancient stories about his past exploits when they come upon one in chains. It is revealed that this book is titled Unworthy and the book ends with Thor Odinson trying desperately to hoist Mjolnir off the surface of the moon. This book is and always has been fantastic! Looking forward to seeing where Aaron is taking us on this ride. The art on both of these series has been incredible. Different artists provide wonderful different takes on the characters as they traverse different realms or appear in different eras. These books are truly masterpieces. Overall they get 5 out of 5.


The last of my Marvel books and the first off my Cullen Bunn books is Magneto 9: A March to Axis. Eric breaks into a concentration camp of sorts in order to assassinate the Red Skull and save some of the kids in there. Everything goes to hell, of course. This issue is a setup to some massive war between the Avengers, X-Men, and the Red Skull who has apparently taken Xavier's mental powers? Interested to see where this is going. Walta does a wonderful job with the gritty looking art. Great issue that has me hooked until next issue. 4 of 5.


Now over to Boom! for the Empty Man 3. Apparently the Empty Man isn't a disease, it's an invasion! *gasp* We get a creepy scene where we see some Frankenstein seeming doctor talking to an apparent carrier of the Empty Man or something. Still a gloriously creepy mystery that promises an awesome finale to this story in a few issues. Del Ray's art is once again brilliantly murky. Love this book. 4 out of 5.


Now for the Sixth Gun 42 and Days of the Dead 2. The prequel uses Jesup to tell us some history of the Knights of Solomon and the Sword of Abraham. There's also the mysterious Yum Kimil who seems to be a cajun god of some sort. Real cool series and history. The main series is setting up the grand finale where the Grey Witch will be using Jesup and the six to recreate the world. Drake, Becky, and Nidawi are trying to plan a way to stop her, and the Knights of Solomon are doing the same. It's amazing how these two series are being released along side each other and are so entertwined. Of course I love these books. It has been well documented. 4.5 out of 5.