Weekly Pull List 6-25-14

Decent pull this week. I've got 3 books from 3 different small press publishers. I was finally able to catch up with The Sixth Gun 41 from Oni Press which came out about a month ago. This issue is a stand alone story telling the history of the Grey Witch (general Hume's mother). It's pretty cool to take a moth off from the main story to see some of how she was created and the dark world she grew up in. The otherworldly creatures that raised her created the monster that she is. Decent story and a nice break. Looking forward to picking up where we left off though. 4 out of 5. 

Next from Image, Outcast 1. A new noir supernatural mystery by Robert Kirkman. A new horror story following an exorcist and a young man who is supposedly being chased around by a demon who is possessing anyone he gets close to: His mother, his wife, and now a little kid that he helps the priest with. I didn't want to like this book as I'm a little burnt out on Kirkman, but it's really good. There's a lot of intense scenes while they're exorcizing the kid. There's hints that the world is a lot bigger and darker than it appears to be and I look forward to see it  as it expands. 4.5 out of 5. 

Finally, I've got Dark Horse's Serenity: Leaves on the Wind 6. The crew goes and breaks out Zoe. This issue wonderfully wraps up this story. I love how it ends on such a high note where things seem back to normal. All around a fun issue and I hope they continue the series. Not sure they will as this is supposedly a miniseries. If there is more, then I will be back. 3 out of 5.

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 6-4-14

I got a handful of books this week. First I will start with the Amazing X-Men title. There was issue 8 and annual 1. I'll start with the annual. It comprises two parts. The first is a story where they go to Africa to confront a monster from Storm's past and the 2nd is a history of Firestar with art as if it was drawn by a child. The Storm arc is great and a lot of fun. Art is absolutely beautiful. All the characters are crisp and emotional and there is an obscene amount of atmospheric art (dirt, sand, etc) that really enhances the entire book. I love it. The second part serves as a scrapbook honoring Firestar. There's a page that's only a faux-Egyptian style painting, one that's "drawn" by a student on his math notebook. Incredibly interesting idea. Execution wasn't great. There's several pages and they are all different, making it feel disjointed and choppy. As a collection of art it's pretty cool. As a story being told, it is pretty lame. Overall a decent annual. I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 all together.

In Amazing X-Men 8 starts of the World War Wendigo story. Wolverine goes to Canada and meets an old friend only to try to find someone. Turns out he was attacked by a wendigo. Turns out there's tons of them. The other X-Men hope to get there in time to save Wolverine (who has no healing factor anymore.) Okay book. Not a huge fan of Wolverine, but he was used excellently. He's sniffing out a crime scene all detective-like. I like seeing a side of Wolverine that's not the tear everybody apart side. The art is pretty cool. Not incredible in any fashion, but also no problems with it. Solid book. 3 out of 5.

Next up Loki Agent of Asgard 5. Crazy fun book. Loki and Lorelei break into Asgard to find Sigurd and such. This issue acts the same as a third act of a heist movie where they reveal the twist and how they managed to pull it off. Super fun. Art is super cool looking. Where this book ends isn't great, but the journey totally works for me. It's fun which is exactly what I want from a comic book. 4 out of 5.

I finally found Magneto 3 so I was able to catch up on that series. In issue 3, Magneto infiltrates the Sentinel factory and he destroys it. In issue 4, he follows a lead to find some of the mutant smugglers to take them out. In issue 5, he meets a stalker of his and eventually agrees to have her help him. Bunn does great work on this series. The only real complaint I have is that it's moving pretty slowly. It's nice that the issues are fairly stand alone so they work fairly well on their own. Artwork on this book is by Gabriel Fernandez Walta and is wonderful. It has a nice watercolor feel to it, while being beautifully precise. I'll give these 3 collectively a 4.5 out of 5.

Last up for Marvel is Nightcrawler 3. Nightcrawler brings Amanda and their sorcerer friend Margali back to the mansion and fighting breaks out. All of a sudden many, many trimegas show up for a fight. It's a fairly decent read. Not super great, but it's alright. I've got probably 3 issues left for this to amaze me before I drop it. There is a really nice scene between Kurt and Logan in this issue. Logan's all friendly and brotherly towards him and it's a really great moment for both of them. 3 out of 5.

Now let's head over to Boom! Studios for The Empty Man issue 1. A new series by Cullen Bunn. It follows a multi-agency task force assigned to investigate a series of deaths somehow linked to the "empty man." It's unclear if it is some sort of virus, a supernatural monster, or just a plain old fashioned serial killer. Bunn doesn't disappoint with his ability to build the world and an incredible intrigue in what's going on. Can't wait to read more. Vaness R. Del Rey is on art and it looks gorgeous. There's a really sketchy style to it that really works in the horror genre. The characters are pretty decent so far, granted we haven't really seen them much. As usual Cullen Bunn has delivered a masterpiece. Incredible intro to the story and the world. 5 out of 5.

I also picked up Futures End 5 and 6 but don't really remember anything that happened. It's fairly uninteresting and most of the characters feel off due to it taking place 5 years in the future and they aren't the characters that we know now. It's not a great book. So I will be dropping it. Meh out of 5.

Justice League United 2 is another book that's not groundbreaking. It might as well be called Exposition United as it's a lot of talking. It serves the plot of the book, but doesn't do much else. These types of issues are a great argument for waiting for the trade so you can move right on in the story. Art still works fine and I am looking forward to a new arc in this book. That said, I did enjoy the brutal fighting between Lobo and Hawkman. Pretty excellent. 3 out of 5.

Over in Green Arrow 32 Oliver returns to Seattle only to find a super villain team-up in progress and Diggle kidnapped by Richard Dragon. Still my favorite art in a book on a monthly basis. There's some flashbacks that have stylized golden-age art look to them. The story has moments that feel fairly familiar but they are woven together in a new way to make it feel fresh. Great book as usual and it sets up a new story that promises to be good. 4.5 out of 5.

Weekly Pull List May Pt. 2

Time to play some catch up. Been a bit busy with moving halfway across the country so I let this get away from me. So let's begin. A lot has been happening in the DC Universe. Most of it has been fairly uninteresting to me. I will start with Justice League United 1. The crew assembled in the 0 issue are battling some giant monster that got released last issue. It changes between rock, fire, lightning, etc to battle everyone. As the creature goes to reform, they teleport for a faraway world. Meanwhile, Lobo fights Hawkman and brings him to scientists who have created "Ultra the multi-alien... The slayer of worlds." from the DNA of thousands of prisoners from across the galaxy. Still build up for a story that may be interesting, but the cosmic stuff typically doesn't do much for me. It's a fine book, but definitely nothing special. 2 out of 5.

Now the big new weekly event. Futures End issues 2-4. Issue 2 is Green Arrow's funeral where everyone is sad and it calls back to the relationship between Ollie and Animal man that we see beginning in Justice League United 1. Issue 3 is mostly Grifter researching something and Lois finding out that Red Robin is alive. Issue 4 is Red Robin realizing that Batman Beyond is here and Frankenstein invades S.H.A.D.E. and gets recruited to avenge his former lover. Plastique and some other guy recruit coil for a "last job" which involves breaking into Terrifitech. Grifter finds a lead to the same but gets zapped and knocked out. Overall, I'm bored with this story. It's a lot of characters I have almost no interest in. The one's I want to know more of (Firestorm, Batman Beyond) are all peripheral characters who have yet to take part. I will probably continue picking this up, but I started getting it thinking it was a 12 or 13 issue series and not a 52 week thing. So I don't really see myself going all the way, but it has until I miss an issue or at least a few more issues to pick up a bit before I'm out. 2 out of 5.

Next up is the conclusion of the Outsiders War in Green Arrow 31. Death, destruction, moral quandaries, etc. all wrap up this story fairly quickly. It's a good arc, but it ended rather abruptly and works out a little too nicely. It's pretty awesome how the Diggle story that we've seen bits and pieces of over the last few issues is now heading toward being the focus of the book. I wish there had been another issue of wrap up for the story. This one felt a little rushed and like everything is crammed in too tightly. Art-wise, still an excellent book. Can't wait to see what Lemire does with the gang of classic Green Arrow villains he introduces at the end. 4 out of 5.

Over on the other side I had Loki: Agent of Asgard 4. A fun little issue and a bit of a battle of wits. The twists are a little heavy handed, but didn't hurt it too badly. The dialogue is fairly painful as it feels like an older person trying to talk like the "cool kids nowadays" and it just comes off forced and awkward. Quite a bit of fun, but this story isn't the best. Solid book with pretty awesome art. 3.5 out of 5.

Nightcrawler 2 follows Nightcrawler and Amanda as they return to the circus of their childhood in hopes of finding some answers. They scuffle but the automaton Trimega shows up. Boring. The issue is a fun read, but there's no real movement in the story. There's nothing that really changes between the beginning and the end. It feels like a filler issue. Which is awful because it's number 2. I'll give it a couple more issues, but I don't think it'll last. 1.5 out of 5.

Continuing in Marvel, Amazing X-Men 7. Firestar and Bobby are going shopping for the mansion. Yes you read that correctly. That's the premise of this issue. Then a baby shows up in their cart and Spider-Man arrives chasing him. They take him back to his alien parents. This may be the dumbest comic I've ever read. Definitely this year. Art is cool, but this is obviously a filler issue as it's not Jason Aaron who wrote it. Pretty, but lame. 0.5 out of 5

Thor God of Thunder 22 wraps up my Marvel stuff so far. This is still a great book. The girls of Thunder still fight Galactus whilst Thor the Avenger and Rosalind explore Roxxon's shenanigans and find out about the Trolls under Broxton causing all the sinkholes. Heck of a fun read. I love this book. Both stories are incredibly intriguing and a lot of fun. Classic Thor tale. The end has a great call back to the first arc of the series which ties things together quite nicely. Artwrk is gorgeous as always. 5 out of 5.

Now onto the smaller sector. Serenity Leaves on the Wind 5. Fun issue. It builds up to the final issue next month in an exciting way. It looks to be a solid arc as a whole, setting up another rebellion and whatnot. Action-wise this is the issue where the art really doesn't work. There's a lot of excellent action and fighting, but the art isn't crisp enough to make things clear. There are several panels that aare just awkward and confusing to look at. It's a little disjointed as well. The flow isn't as smooth as some other issues. The jumps between character stories are a bit hard to follow. Still love this book and cannot wait to finish off the first arc. 4 out of 5.

Over at Image I got Velvet 5. This issue dives into Velvet's past and gives you more information about why what is happening is so hard on her. It is incredible character stuff and it manages to work as a declaration of intent on the future of the series. I'm excited to go back and read the first 5 issues that serve as a great introduction to this world and a hint of the main antagonist of the series: the corruption within Velvet Templeton's organization. I imagine I will likely pick this up in trade format in the future to make it easier to get people into this series. Brubaker does a great job of going into the past and making us care a lot about the situation and the characters even if they aren't the normal or most important ones. Incredible book. This series is one of my favorite. 5 out of 5.

Last up is Sixth Gun 40. Everyone knows how I feel about this book so I will keep it short. This issue leads right into the endgame. This series is supposed to end with issue 50 so Bunn and Hurtt are bringing it around towards the final conflict. This issue did feel a bit rushed, but also had some really cool character moments that were excellent to see. They also dismiss a possible time travel argument in a few lines of dialogue. It's always funny when writers acknowledge the complaints that readers will have before they happen. Anyways, good book and I'll be back for more. 4.5 out of 5.

Weekly Pull List - May Pt. 1

Time to play a little catch up. I thought I would have a ton of books last week to talk about, but there was a shipment error and also errors in my pull list doc. So, first book is from April 30 and it was the only book that week. Serenity 4 picks up where we left off. There's several call backs to the show. It's a fun read and feels like classic Firefly. Heist work, inevitable betrayal, Zoey being badass, etc. I really need to go back and reread this series as I was a little lost in this issue. Good story with some pretty solid art. Still a bit lighthearted and I think it's not the best choice for the story, but it is good objectively. I like where the story is going and I think there's a lot of strong threads there, I'm just worried that it's focusing too much on connecting to parts of the show and not exploring or expanding the story from the show. Totally a solid read, but not the best. 3 out of 5.

Next up are some books from Free Comic Book Day and last weeks pull. Our FCBD was apparently super busy so I was only able to pick up the DC New 52 Future's End #0. This starts the weekly story which is taking place 5 years in the future and follows Batman Beyond, Firestorm, Grifter, and others. The story is that Mister Terrific's Brother Eye has evolved and started infecting people to take over the earth. Not surprisingly, a lot of setup in the 0 and 1 issues. Some good cause and effect can be seen already. Everything feels neatly put together and planned out so far. This gives me a lot of hope for the next couple months of this book. The stakes are high as it is the earth itself who is in danger from Brother Eye. It's an interesting book as it follows 4 different stories: Grifter, Batman Beyond, Mr. Terrific, and Firestorm. There are also 4 stellar writers; Brian Azzarello, Keith Giffen, Dan Jurgens, and Jeff Lemire; who all work together on the story and each write one of the characters. At least that's how I've heard it works. The art work is great. Patrick Zircher draws a dynamic and action filled issue. It's an intriguing setup for the story. It feels mildly familiar plot-wise but different enough to pique my interest. We shall see how this goes. 3.5 out of 5.

Weekly Pull List 4-23-14

Only a couple books this week so I will dive right in. The first is Justice League United 0. This book is very much a set up issue. It's an interesting line up. It's introducing Adam Strange to the New 52 and follows Animal Man and Stargirl as they meet him and explore a disappearance of Strange's partner. Literally. His partner disappeared in front of his eyes. As they investigate, Martian Manhunter and Green Arrow show up. The aliens release some dangerous fiery being who attacks. The issue starts with an invasion of an alien science lab and then flashes back in a fairly cliched moment. At the end of this book I was left with a few questions which I'm sure will be answered in the first six or so issues. How does Strange get his armor? Who are these aliens and what are they up to? Why should I care about half these characters? Why are Green Arrow and Animal Man bantering so much? I'm mildly intrigued, but it's going to be a fairly cosmic story which I usually don't like so I will keep my expectations low. I do like Jeff Lemire so I will give it a few more issues. As far as art goes, I'm not a fan. Mike McKone is a solid artist, but the style feels inconsistent throughout the issue. Not sure if it's a pencils or coloring issue but it just doesn't feel right. Some panels are rather crisp and vibrant but others are muted and blurry. Some choices were made in that department that are not very clear yet. Middle of the line for me. 2.5 of 5.

My other book this week is Lazarus 8. More of the plot is revealed and we get introduced more to Forever's past and a few more of the caravan heading towards the Lift in Denver. Now, we still don't know what the Lift is, but I was instantly more attached to the people we get to explore. Forever gets yelled at to stop the imminent bombing at the Lift. Sweet middle part of the story. Not much to complain about other than it would work much better in a full story. If this book sounds interesting, I would definitely pick it up in trade paperback form. Art in this book is incredible as usual. It's a very gritty feeling book which matches the grim future world. Excellent book apart from being a mid-arc book. Still an incredibly fun read. 4 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.