Weekly Pull List 11-26-14

A few books this week. I'll start with Rasputin 2. As intriguing as the first issue was, there isn't a whole lot that's new from this issue. He is drinking at a bar when a kindred spirit, Antoine, gets in a tussle. Rasputin joins in and brings him back when he gets shot in the throat. Later, Antoine shows up and invites Grigori on an adventure. Hence the start of a story... This runs the same trouble I've had with a handful of recent number 1s. It feels like the end of issue two is the real starting point (inciting incident if you will) of the series. It feels a tiny bit cheap to have that feeling after issue two. The bar fight takes up a good chunk of the first half of the book. It's a great scene, but feels a bit too early to take up that much of the book for a fight whose purpose could have come across in half the pages. The artwork if pretty freaking gorgeous. There's a nice cool palette which makes it feel like you're in a tundra wasteland. The book has potential, but is still finding its legs. I will stick with it for a while and hope for the best. 3 out of 5.

Also from Image comes Rucka and Lark's Lazarus 13. Politics abound at the Conclave. Everyone is on edge and carefully plotting their next move in the insane chess match taking place on a tiny island, with stakes as high as entire countries. While this book isn't the action packed thrill ride I was hoping for, Rucka is pretty awesome at the slow game of building up the world and raising the stakes. Lark, as usual, does some fine work in making these characters lovable and intriguing in this grim tale of family and what they do for each other. This issue is a pretty great read, but it's a "calm before the storm scenario". Especially after the last page. Some bad stuff is about to happen. 3.5 out of 5.

Lastly, G.I. Joe issue 3 was put out by IDW. In a plot that feels similar to Retaliation, the Joes are fighting to keep themselves alive as an organization since their funding has been pulled. This series is interesting as it's growing out of the last "season" of G.I.Joe comics. They have been running 2 year series' to make it easier for new people to jump on board. It's been working quite well story-wise as it allows creators to tell the story they want and then hand it off for a fresh new start. I recently read the Cobra Command event from a few years ago and there are some similar themes (mostly Cobra trying to fix its public face. Really this new series is showing a near direct result of that book. I', loving this new direction and the only actual complaint I have is that some of the characters can seem juvenile in their depictions. Great issue and I am excited to see where Traviss and Kurth are going to take us. 4 out of 5.