Weekly Pull List 6-18-14

Short week this week. The first book I picked up was due to me listening to Fatman on Batman 66 where they read through the first issue of Batman 66 meets the Green Hornet. It's a fun book if you're a fan of the Adam West series. I've enjoyed what I've seen of it and the movie so I had fun. I don't remember the villain, General Gumm (former Colonel) but he is supposedly from the TV show episode where they met the Green Hornet for the first time. The dialogue is a little jarring to read as it's written so well in the style of the show and reads rather oddly. I'm not a huge fan of the art. Everything has a thick black outline on it and it doesn't work for me. It's almost as if a child drew everything in a big sharpie. The biggest problem of having such bland artwork is that the cover is by Alex Ross so it is incredibly beautiful. Doesn't work great for me overall. Which is why listening to it over at the link above is a good choice. 3 out of 5.

Thor God of Thunder 23 is the other book I picked up. This book picks up shortly after the last book took place. It took just enough of a leap in time to make it feel like I had missed something. Even though there was nothing important to the story that was glossed over at all, it felt off for a while. An epic battle rages between King Thor and Galactus whilst today's Thor battles the Minotaur under Broxton. An extremely awesome conclusion to the last days of Midgard story. I like how Aaron doesn't use 6 issue arcs all the time. It keeps the book feeling fresh. Ribic again does beautiful work. All in all one of the better issues of this series so far. No real complaints to speak of. This story could've been a half issue longer as it was a bit rushed at the end. Otherwise it's all around excellent. 4.5 out of 5.

Weekly Pull List 4-16-14

Another light week this week. Although I'm apparently more of a Marvel person than I thought. I picked up two books this week. Two Marvel Books written by Jason Aaron. I'll start with Amazing X-Men 6. Now that Nightcrawler is back from the dead, it's only right to have a party at a bar to commemorate. Kurt's enjoying the celebration when Mystique shows up to find out where Azazel is being taken as a prisoner. I was initially very intrigued by the pirate Nightcrawler from issue one. I wish that we had seen some more of that than we did. Now he's back and has to deal with being alive again. It's a nice touch to see them celebrating for once. Wolverine actually mentions that in his toast. I've not read anything focusing on Nightcrawler and his family before and in that respect it's a fun story. Mystique and Azazel have a ton of animosity towards each other and we see the beginning of an intriguing showdown between them and Nightcrawler which we don't get to see because Nightcrawler gets knocked out I guess? Mystique offers Azazel a job and Kurt is drunk. The end. Okay book, I would have enjoyed seeing more of the fight between the three but since it's part one, I'm hoping we will see more in a few issues.. The art has a very basic and juvenile feel to it. It feels like a kids book and I think it could use a more serious take on the character designs. 2.5 out of 5. Looking forward to seeing more of them.

The other book I got is Thor God of Thunder 21. King Thor's battle with Galactus rages on. Thor the Avenger heads back to Asgard near Broxton, Oklahoma only to find Roxxon has moved in with several floating machine cities polluting the area. In a rage Thor goes to destroy some of the equipment and machines. Only to be handed a note. That's right, Thor is getting sued for damages. As always, an excellent book It's awesome seeing two almighty beings beating the crap out of each other. Thor being sued? Now that's original. Incredibly intrigued as to how that's going to go. Ribic is still doing incredibly beautiful artwork. If either the writing OR the art were as good as it is, I would be buying this book. Since it's both, I feel that the book is twice the value of a normal book. 5 out of 5.

Weekly Pull List 2-12-14

Solid week this week. Got a few great books and took a chance on a new one. I'll start with the new one. I saw the cover of The Mercenary Sea which looks straight out of a James Bond comic. It's a fun read and pretty quick. Follows a crew of a mercenary ship floating the seven seas. Imagine Pirates of the Caribbean meets Firefly, set in modern times, with a bit of spy thriller thrown in.   The art is pretty cool, but the colors are rather flat. Not a ton of shading and detail, but it works. It's a pretty light story so far and the simplistic art matches quite well. I like it, but I think I'm going to watch for the trade to get the full story. 4 out of 5.

Next up is Justice League of America 12. Still following Martian Manhunter and Stargirl as they fight Despero and try to save the rest of the League as well as the world. J'onn tells an old Martian children's tale which relates to Stargirl's trials in the issue. Decent book as usual. It's just fun, not overly important in the grand scheme of things. The art is spot on with a solid realism and vibrant colors to keep things interesting. The whole Forever Evil thing is rather boring to me which is why I enjoy this smaller, more personal story. 3 out of 5.

Now I jump over to Marvel for Thor God of Thunder 19.Now. First, Marvel's decimal numbering is stupid. For more, go listen to the Watchtower Podcast as I share much of their views on the subject. In this case, however I think it works on this round as it's a new storyline that's pretty simple to jump into. Now for the book! Great start to the new story! Back on Midgard, Rosalind Solomon is following whales when attacked by some whalers. She's saved by Thor and arrives at a press release where Dario Agger of Roxxon is announcing his new ice harvested from a moon of Jupiter. Thor thwarts his plan of world domination via making boatloads of money. In the future, King Thor revels at how blue Earth used to be when an ancient Galactus shows up. Excellent start to another epic tale. It's great to see Thor really caring about the Earth. Also excellent to see Esad Ribic back!! His art is so smooth and beautiful. Fits the epic, medieval feel to the book. He's always been the perfect choice for this book. 4.5 out of 5. Excellent story and room for improvement.

The Sixth Gun 38 rounds out my list this week. You've heard me praise the heck out of Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt. This issue's scale has expanded greatly from what the last few had been leading up to. Loads of action, lots of characters, and a ton of tension being released. They start working to shave off the overload of characters to make the book a little smaller and more intimate like the earlier stories. A story that is not only fresh, but done incredibly well to add to the novelty of it. Best issue I've read in a while. And still a favorite book. 4.5 out of 5.