Monthly Pull List December 2014

Alright, rapid catch up on all the books from last year. Now that the news is out, I got married on New Years Eve. It was a very successful surprise wedding. We were planning it throughout the end of the year which is why I've been so sporadic with these. As I head back to work in the new year, I will be working hard to get a set schedule rolling and stay on top of things. Alright, here we go.

Storm 6 starts off with some epilogue on the Death of Wolverine story, then it does a nice little tale of Storm flying a charter flight and dealing with a bit of Mutant hate. It's a fairly powerful story where she has to overcome adversity and fear in order to save the plane from a paramilitary attack. This issue was almost enough to get me interested in keeping with it for a few more issues, but I already dropped it at the store. The art is still pretty good. The cover is a pretty fantastic shot from inside the plane as someone records Storm fighting outside the window. It's a beautiful page. 4 out of 5.

Nightcrawler 9 came out as well. Nightcrawler up against a bunch of X-men and space pirates. There are some flashbacks to Kurt talking with Kitty and reminiscing about a time she was with Wolverine, in a mini-series that I read about 2 months ago. The story ends with Nightcrawler cornered. I hope that this story wraps up in the next issue so I can drop the book without feeling like I'm missing anything. Art is okay, as usual. Not much else to say about this book. 3 out of 5.

And the usual winner of Marvel, Thor 3. A three-way battle rages between the Goddess of Thunder, Dario Agger, and Malekith leading the Frost Giants. The battle sways back and forth quite epicly, only to be ended by Thor, with his metal hand, showing up and challenging his new replacement. Another epic issue that fully intrigues and entices me. Always a pleasure to read Aaron's work and Dauterman's art has certainly earned it's way into this book. Excellent book. 4.5 out of 5.

Next, we go over to IDW for G.I.Joe 4. Tensions rise as the Joes, Cobra and Rashidov and his separatists run covert ops to get ahead of each other. Excellently written and drawn even better, this book improves with every issue. While there may be a way for this issue to be better, I'm certainly not seeing it. 5 out of 5.

Over to DC we have Green Arrow 37. This book has the same problems I foresee it having for the extent of Kreisberg and Sokolowski's run. It feels like an alternate Arrow. That being said, I will not complain about that anymore. They set up a mysterious crime lord, John King, and introduced his daughter Mia as a new sidekick character. It feels a little too fan-fic, but it's actually a fun read. I'm hoping this arc keeps picking up. Art-wise, Daniel Sampere seems to be trying to mimic Andrea Sorrentino's art. It doesn't quite work as well, but I like it pretty well. It's a step in the right direction, at the very least. 3.5 out of 5.

DC's imprint Vertigo put out Wolf Moon 1. This is Cullen Bunn's take on a werewolf tale. He twists the lore a bit and makes the werewolf an abstract phenomenon that transfers to a new person on a monthly basis instead of being a single person. The main character has a personal vendetta against the wold and goes out to hunt it. There's a dark mystery to the book, Bunn's specialty, and Jeremy Haun's art is the perfect creepy and dark style to enhance the story. As far as first issues go, it doesn't get much better than this. 4.5 out of 5.

Now over to Bunn's other creepy, indie, mystery: The Empty Man 6 of 6. The end of the first mini-series in this strange new world. The ending wasn't incredibly satisfying, but the setup for what comes next is pretty great. Del Rey's art is great. I must say, it's pretty annoying that this book was marketed as x of 6. It implies there will be an end to the story. I'm fine with season ore mini-series style books, it's just mildly annoying that it's not clear from the start. Another great installation into the Bunn library. 4.5 out of 5.

Time to finish off with some Oni books. Terrible Lizard 2 starts off with a fight between Wrex and a giant gorilla with a stone crab-like claw. There's some good fighting, and loads of fun. Plot-wise it's a little slow, which is okay since it's geared towards kids. Mostly, this is just a really fun book without mush in the way of stakes or gravitas. I'll probably drop after the first arc. 3.5 out of 5.

Brides of Helheim 3 is next in this week's Cullen Bunn Pull List. Rikard is bringing the old sorcerer back home to answer to the witches and repay his blood debt. Promises/threats are made and they are greeted by the long-waiting Sigrid upon hitting shore, only to have the sorcerer turn her into or release a Valkyrie. Thus setting up a battle against someone the draugr is actually threatened by. A great read. A tense battle of wits as the pair of ungodly characters Jonah across the sea in a monstrous fish, who is being attacked by all the monsters enraged by the sorcerer's presence. A great read, and a wonderful setup for next issue? Yes, please! 4 out of 5.

Lastly, The Sixth Gun 45. A nicely crafted issue. Bookended by a chronicling of Screaming Crow and how he met the Chief of Thunder. The stage is almost set. Griselda has oiled the seal with the blood of the townspeople and taken care of the pesky thunderbirds. There was a surprise visit from an old friend, and all sorts of violence. A great way to set up the end of a series. 4.5 out of 5.

Monthly Pull List 8-12-14

Time to catch up a bit. I got carried away with reading other comics I borrowed from my brother: Superman: New Krypton stuff and now IDWs Ninja turtles series. I also only had one or two books most weeks. Anyways, onto the books! We will start with Marvel. First up is a new series: Storm #1 written by Greg Pak with art by Victor Ibanez. It starts with Storm rescuing Santo Marco from a tsunami. With political tensions high due to their ban on mutants Ororo argues with Beast about being there. This is the basis of the story which this issue is merely made to kickstart the series and let Storm go off on her own. It's a great start having political strife as well as a personal conflict to build up the stakes and make it an intriguing series. Art-wise, this book is pretty solid. It really shines in the darker exterior scenes while the bright interiors are oddly cartoonish. Great start to the book and I hope it continues to be a good series. 3.5 out of 5.

Next up Magneto 7. Magneto infiltrates a mutant slave ring where they are forced to fight a predator x, or a mutant hunting machine. Naturally he decimates the whole operation and frees the mutant captives. It is still an excellent book. I love the anti-spy feel of the book and the way the story is progressing. Art is still very good. The use of the overly willing sidekick is pretty cool. A single hero (or antihero as the case may be) is rarely awesome on their own and typically need another person who is the brains behind the operation. Someone to gather more information whilst the title character is off fighting their enemies or taking down slave rings. Briar Raleigh is an excellent assistant and I can't wait to see what Bunn has in store for her and where she has come from. Great book still. 4 out of 5.

To polish off Marvel I have Thor & Loki: The Tenth Realm 2 and 3 where we explore the realm of Heven and at least the Angels' side of the war with Asgard. Still an incredibly intriguing story. I love the retcon happening across Marvel due to the Original Sin story. Well, I don't consider it a retcon as it gives new information more so than changing things we thought we knew. I love the dark Asgardian history though I'm not sure if I believe the queen of the angels and her version of history yet. Loki is deceptive and conniving as usual and I'm curious to see how it would play out (Which is why Loki is great, he can always go either way). Only two issues left before Thor becomes unworthy to wield Mjolnir and a female picks up the mantle (Angela?) so I am ver much looking forward to finishing the series. Great series. 4 out of 5.

On the other side we get to see Batman 66 Meets the Green Hornet 3. It continues the fun, light-heartedness of the series. It's not super great, but it's a lot of fun. I'm just very okay about the book and there's not much to discuss that hasn't been said already. I would suggest waiting for the trade as the series is very serialized, but feels like it should be read all at once. The one thing I want to say about this is that it greatly captures the feel of a TV show where each issue, while not a full story, ends on a cliffhanger. It's like you get to the commercial break in the show. Interesting way to read the comics, but it feels like the whole series would be the equivalent of at least a two episode story arc. 3 out of 5.

My other DC book is Green Arrow 34. As the conclusion of the Broken story this issue raises the bar in seriousness of tone and incredible art. Ollie gets his ass kicked by Dragon before he pierces Dragon's femoral artery and leaving him. It's an incredibly clean and solid finale to the story and sets up the direction the next story will go with Emiko agreeing to be Oliver's apprentice and Diggle agreeing to stick around. Another issue ideal for setting up where the story wants to go. Lemire is great and Sorrentino is amazing at translating his words. So, if you have any interest in picking up one of the best books at DC, grab the trades. Absolutely worth it. If you like Arrow then pick up issue 35 when show veterens Kreisberg and Sokolowski are taking over. 5 out of 5!

Now to the independent side of things. Outcast 2 comes from Robert Kirkman's side of Image: Skybound Publishing. If you want a book that'll creep you out and possibly make you lose sleep. Demon possession, rape and domestic abuse, questions of faith and possible matricide are all represented in this fantastic book. One of the creepiest things I've ever seen/read/watched/experienced. Outcast is a lot darker than anything else Kirkman has done. Although Invincible is apparently absurdly evil and vicious. Paul Azaceta's art is grim and dark, but not too vile. It helps to lighten the creepiness a bit. There's a solid cliffhanger that really seduced me. Looking forward to checking out more from this series. 5 out of 5.

Also from Image is Lazarus 10. This issue expands our knowledge of the world a bit and raises the stakes  as it sets up for a world-wide gang war. This story looks far more interesting than the last one. I hope things play out epically. It's really nice to see Rucka expand the universe appropriately and having another solid looking story. Not much else to say apart from This is my favorite issue of this series in a little while and I hope it continues. 4 out of 5.

Last Image book I picked up was Velvet 6. In this book we follow Velvet as she meets a few of her assets and decides to go on the offensive to clear her name. Brubaker doesn't disappoint with his espionage, crime thriller. Steve Epting's work is incredible gorgeous and sufficiently noir, perfectly matching the tone of this book. There's some more backstory and a couple twists. Great book! I love everything about this book! 4.5 out of 5.

Lastly, I picked up Sixth Gun: Days of the Dead 1. A new miniseries to give a little more backstory to the world of the Six and their history. It introduces us to Yum Kimil, an apparent god or embodiment of death itself who is set to be reawakened as villains tend to be in stories. If you've read any of my blog posts, you know I love anything to do with this series. Great start to the story and we'll see how what it builds into the mythology before the last streak of issues before the end in issue 50. 5 out of 5!

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 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 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.

Weekly Pull List 8-21-13

Big week this week. had a nice variety too. First off we have Sonic Universe 55. I picked this up because I needed an extra book to spend enough for the punch card and the idea of a pirate sonic is super cool. Unfortunately we don't see Sonic at all in this issue. It's more Blaze, Marine, Amy Rose, Cream, Bark, and Bean. I don't know any of these characters apart from their roles in Worlds Collide. That being said, I did thoroughly enjoy this issue. Blaze and co. are roaming the high seas looking for the final Sol Emerald when they come across another ship that opens fire on them. A battle ensues and the issue ends with Blaze onboard Captain Metal's ship as her boat and her friends are sinking. Much like the Worlds Collide series, there's not a ton to talk about. The art does what it needs to. The story is interesting. The twist is unnecessary and doesn't mean a ton to me as I haven't read the story that the supposed prisoner was introduced in. Good book. 3 out of 5.

Next we'll head to Image with Steve Niles' Chin Music 2. Last issue seemed to just introduce the characters. Issue 2 introduces the story.  We follow Elliot Ness investigating a crime scene where he eventually tells the press to not release that Capone is dead to the press. Ness visits Daniel Shaw to arrest him as he robbed Ness the opportunity of bringing Capone in so he will become a legend. The issue ends with Shaw agreeing to bring Capone in alive. Once again, Steve Niles brings out a really awesome, intriguing idea and story. Messing with history is always interesting and adding a mystical element is such a cool way to do it. Shaw is a man who apparently can't die and now he's supposed to bring back the dead Capone? I'm in for the ride. Tony Harris' art is super stylized and eerie and really adds to the story. Super cool book. 4 out of 5.

I decided to try something new with Batman Beyond Unlimited 1. This is a collection of digital issues of Batman Beyond and Justice League Beyond that were released over the last month. Written by Kyle Higgins who was on the Fat Man on Batman podcast recently. While I haven't watched Batman Beyond and this continues that story, I still enjoyed this book. It's interesting seeing the future of the DCU. I like this book, but not enough to buy each issue. I may be picking up the trade when it comes out, tho I think I need to watch the series before I'll really care about these characters. 2.5 out of 5.

Continuing with DC we'll head to Superman Unchained 3. We pick back up with the stand off with Superman, Gen. Lane, and Wraith. A minor scuffle ensues andSuperman surrenders to the seemingly friendly Wraith. When something attacks Tokyo, Superman and Wraith fly across the world when suddenly (gasp) Wraith says he has to kill Superman! This book is losing quality with each episode. The story is losing it's surprise and intrigue with each issue. There were subtle hints throughout the issue that Brainiac is involved. If that's the case I may still be interested, but this villain isn't very intriguing at all and I don't find myself caring what's going to happen. 2 out of 5

Trinity of Sin: Pandora 3 is a Trinity War Tie-in. We get some more back story of Pandora through the ages, which is interesting to see the training she received and to see it pay off at the end when she kills Envy. She promises to explain how, but also says it won't be till next issue. So yeah. Not a whole lot of bearing on the actual trinity war as her fight with the sins goes unseen by everyone. It's a weird decision and I'll have to wait to see how it plays out. Story itself is alright, but the set up gets this book up to a 3 out of 5.

We continue Trinity War with Justice League Dark 23. Everyone's fighting for the box again. Shazam manages to grab hold of it, sending a magical pulse throughout the world to be felt by all the magic characters, allowing Deadman to sense Madame Xanadu's location. The story ends when Constantine shows up and takes the box. It doesn't effect him negatively as "you can't soil a pot that's already filthy" which I found interesting. Zatana and Constantine whisk away to find Madame Xanadu and meet up with Batman and crew. She reveals that the box is actually a doorway and the Outsider says it's time to open it. A lot of good action, but realistically this book could have been half this long. As I mentioned before, I wish that we could have seen better interplay between this issue and what happened in Pandora's book. You can see where they cross if you examine both books. Decent story. Art is great as always. I'm looking forward to the end. See how they work that out. 3 out of 5.

Finally we have The Sixth Gun 33. Drake is mourning his inability to do anything while Kirby Hale, Gord Cantrell, and friends go looking for the dream hunters who are pursuing Becky. And Becky herself is trapped in an alternate reality dream where Hume is still alive and has killed Drake. There's a somewhat tense dinner scene that's interrupted by the dream hunters. When Hume is speared from through the window, Becky grabs his Sixth Gun and heads out to intercept them with Hume's men. Next issue promises to be a nice, epic fight which is super exciting. However, last book hinted that this one would be dealing with dragons so I will not keep my hopes up. This issue is up to par for Bunn and Hurtt. On a side note, he was on a recent Fight for Comics podcast doing an interview. It's a great one and we get some awesome insight into this book. Definitely check it out! 4 out of 5.

That's all for this week. Next week will be much lighter so I will review some trades I read as well.

Weekly Pull List 6-19-2013

Very solid week for comics this week. I only picked up three books, but they are all great books.

We'll start with Sonic Universe 53 - We return to the world where the blue heroes take on the dastardly doctor duo. This issue wraps up part two of Worlds Collide by having the heroes rescue the rest of the roboticized masters (the friends of sonic turned into evil robotic versions.) They then start heading toward the base where Drs. Wily and Eggman are holding Dr. Light captive. Once again, good book. I think I'll hold off on reviews until the crossover is finished and just leave basic plot synopses for the issues. 4 out of 5

Next up we head to the beautiful, horrific, wild west in Sixth Gun: Sons of the Gun 4. This title follows the story of the wicked General Hume's comrades and vicious teammates. I re-read all four issues today which is definitely the way to read it. It is great to see the villains' story outside of the main book. This issue's main story follows Silas as he arrives in a town and begins to investigate the mysterious disease taking hold of people and a bunch of livestock with strange injuries. A few of the infected beg for Silas to put them out of his misery. As his gun, the fourth, calls up the spirits of those it has killed he brings about a sort of cult. The book ends with him stumbling into a barn and finding a crazed looking lady taking a bite out of a cow's neck. Interesting story and fantastic to see a cult sort of story in a very atypical setting. Bunn and Hurtt do great work as always and this is a fantastic prequel mini series. This is probably my favorite issue so far. It's an interesting concept of having the bearers of each gun get their own story in this pseudo prequel. 5 out of 5.

Finally I got Sixth Gun 32. As part 3 of this story, I was a bit lost until I got a digital copy of issue 31 which still hasn't come in yet. This story is following Becky through her "Ghost Dance" as she is passed out in the desert. Drake and the others set off to find the supposed skinwalkers who are Hacking into her ghost dance to hunt Becky down at the behest of Missy Hume. This story is close to being the best of the series to date. Her fever dream of sorts takes her into the past where she finds out that The Six have been reincarnated throughout the years. We see them as tomahawks and later as swords as she appears in medieval times at a castle under attack by dragons. We see the dark past of the Six as they are used in sword form in a seal much like one we saw in the first arc. After they activate the seal Becky appears on a street in the middle of some town and is confronted by a pale, older version of Silas Hedgepath, wielder of the Fourth gun and his crew which resembles the other gun holders we've seen in the Sons of the Gun. I really like this issue! It's setting up for some really neat story to connect both books through Becky's dream while still keeping a great story going in the book's present time. The art always pops off the page to portray the wicked feeling of the book. The story takes turns that hint at a fantastic history of the Six and promises to fulfill the desire to see more. I've said it plenty, but if you aren't reading Sixth Gun, go pick up the trade paperbacks at your LCS. 5 out of 5.

Weekly Pull List - 5-8-2013

And we're back! I've had a busy week. Recorded 3 podcasts and edited and posted 2 of them (still need to get Mainframe Chronicle up). Been busy with the two jobs as usual. Beat Mega Man X for the first time (a battle 20 years or so in the making). So now I'm onto Mega Man X2 as I have the Mega Man X Collection for PS2. Great game(s)!! Also saw Iron Man 3, which I liked a lot. Look for a review on that soon.

On a sadder note: news broke that the Sixth Gun Pilot was passed over by NBC. Read writer Cullen Bunn's response here. I didn't really expect it to get picked up, but was super hopeful as this could easily turn into a new Walking Dead size phenomenon. But alas...

Anyways, onto the main feature! Had a heavier week this week.

Avengers 11

I've not been impressed with this book since issue one. I was waiting for a change in style or story or something to make it better and this issue is it. Instead of feeling like exposition to an upcoming, uninteresting story, this issue was essentially a heist story. It follows a bunch of characters who I have no idea who they were as they infiltrate some place that I don't remember to find out why something happened in a previous issue (maybe?). Unfortunately the end seemed to be just set up for a new story. I'll try out issue 12 and if I'm not impressed, I'm out. Overall, decent issue. Much better than previous ones, but still not outstanding.

JLA 3

We will now jump to the big group team from DC. I think DC is handling their team books much better. We have a set roster with guest appearances instead of a pool of hundreds of people that it is ridiculous to keep track of them all. Also the story seems to be going somewhere and actually feels like it continues from month to month. I think the issue is that Marvel is trying to do a bimonthly book in Avengers so it feels rushed.
But onto the Justice League of America. This story may work better than Avengers, but it is rather cliche. It starts off where we left off: With the JLA fighting the Justice League, but surprise! it's actually robots. Since their assault didn't work, they try to infiltrate the Society of Villains or whatever they're calling themselves nowadays. They do so using a decent plot device, but of course the hot-headed Green Arrow almost ruins the plan since he's not in the know!! This confused me as I thought he was actually already part of the team, but he's apparently not... So I need to go reread the first two issues to see what I missed. Again, an enjoyable book if not at all surprising.

Sonic the Hedgehog 248

So I caught up with the Worlds Collide story where Drs. Wily and Eggman have tricked Sonic and Mega Man into fighting each other. I think the best way to describe this book is a young gamer's fantasy played out and aimed at a very young audience. In that respect it succeeds greatly. The story is predictable but it is still really cool to see. The evil doctors are sufficiently egotistical and fairly obnoxious, but it totally works for the story. Since Mega Man X and Sonic 2 were two of my absolutely favorite games growing up, I love the story. Were this not the case, I would probably not care at all.

Mega Man 25

Woo! 25th issue! In this episode Sonic and Mega Man go from fighting in Sonic's world to fighting in Mega Man's world. Eventually they start talking and realize they're on the same side. The part that's great is when the bad guys actually acknowledge this and verbalize why that's bad for them. It's amusing and again exactly what I want from these issues.

Chin Music 1

I picked this up because The owner of my LCS mentioned it was new. I saw Steve Niles was involved and he wrote the Mystery Society, one of the books that made me love comics. He also created 30 Days of Night. Everything I've read by him has been enjoyable. Not my number 1 writer by any means, but all decent at least. This book does not disappoint. It reminds me a lot of Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt's The Damned series. It looks to be a 30's gangster book with supernatural elements. I enjoy the book. Took a couple reads to follow it. Really to get into the style of story telling. Bottom line? I'm in for a few issues at least. I could me getting this book for quite a while.

Thor God of Thunder 8

I've raved quite a bit on this book here already and this one doesn't disappoint. It's not the best issue in this series, but it's great in it's set up of the (hopefully) epic fight between the three Thors (say that 5 times fast) and Gorr the god slayer. I'm interested to see how this story will go forward and really this book is worth buying for the epic final page of the Thors riding through space on a viking ship. Art is beautiful. The dialogue is subtle and has great humor in it. The time travel in the story is odd, but easy to look past as the rest of the book is awesome. Great book! All around.