Weekly Pull List 7-2-14

Several great books this week. Let's start with Batman '66 Meets The Green Hornet 2. Since I already got number 1 and it's a 6 issue arc, I figured I might as well go all in. This book is mostly impressive at the way it captures the voices of the characters and the overall jokey and lighthearted feel of the show. General Gumm teams up with the Clown Prince of Crime in this issue and once again we are left in a harrowing cliffhanger!! A lot of fun. It's not the most exciting or brilliant story, but it's fun so I call it a win. 4 out of 5.

Next up is Lazarus 9. Been waiting several months for this one, but we finally find out about the Lift. Turns out the Lift is a test of sorts. It allows a few members of the serf population rise up and begin to work for the family populations. Art is still cool. This issue works great to expand the universe and give us a little of the history of Forever as well. Still a great book and I love Rucka and Lark's teamwork. Lark's artwork works so well with Rucka's writing style. There's a reason they've been working together for so long. All good things. I'm glad this issue finally came out. As usual I'm excited to see more. 4 out of 5. 

Thor God of Thunder 24. The epilogue of the Last Days of Midgard story cleans up Broxton and teases stuff for a future story arc. This is a nicely done issue. Not the most action filled issue, but it's very well done and good to see a transitionary story done right. Most of the issue discusses the rebuilding of Broxton and the decision of Asgard to move elsewhere in order to protect the people of Midgard. We see Jane Foster again and have a lovely conversation between her and Thor. Future Thor explores the newly flourishing, old planet Earth and Galactus is ravaging Mars when the remnants of the Black Blade of Gorr infect him to create the Butcher of Worlds. Great issue. Ribic's art is still stellar. It's a shame we don't get more until September. 3 out of 5.

Also in Marvel land comes Magneto 6. Magneto hunts down a bunch of clones of a mutant team who helped hunt down other mutants. He eventually finds the facility where they make them and alters the formula so they'll be loyal to him somehow. Strange jump to make and the plot doesn't move a whole lot, but the art is awesome. They use colors excellently to emphasize certain pieces of the art. The deaths are equally gruesome and gorgeous. All around an excellent book. This issue was a bit of a lull, but I'm sure it will pick up. 3 out of 5.

Lastly, Green Arrow shows some new tricks in issue 33. There's some great flashbacks between Diggle and Ollie exploring their history with Dragon. He's mad at Arrow for stopping before. It turns out that was during Oliver's depression after his mother died so Diggle ran out as the Arrow to stop some crime. Oliver finds Dragon and Diggle only to find Vertigo as a guard of sorts. The issue ends as Dragon throws Digg out a window and Fyff takes a gunshot to the abdomen while trying to rescue Emiko and get her to safety. Definitely the biggest cliffhanger of the bunch. As usual the art is incredible and the story is very fun. Great issue and it seems things are about to go nuts which is always fun to see. 4 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 3-5(12)-14

Two weeks to catch up on today. I will start with a new number 1. Cullen Bunn, creator of Sixth Gun, started a new Magneto series. I picked it up because it's Bunn. Magneto hunts down a mutant killer when he turns all sentinel and tries to kill Magneto. I like the idea of a cyborg type sentinel and Magneto hunting down the people who did that to the poor kid promises to be an exciting fun ride. The creative/dark storytelling of Bunn taking on the intriguing character of Magneto is a wonderful match and I love it a lot so far. Gabriel Hernandez Walta on art is pretty good. The design of Magneto is a little odd. His face is more round and less tall than the normal look for him. It's a little jarring and feels like more of a Lex Luthor than Magneto. Otherwise the backgrounds are gritty and dark. Showing the not best side of the world. 4.5 out of 5.

Also in the Marvel villains category, Loki Agent of Asgard 2. I love this issue. It has Loki at a speed dating event. He's there talking to a human who has a power to see through any lies, including Loki's mirage. It's an extremely absurd premise for a book, but Ewing perfectly portrays Loki's charm so it shines through to the reader. A great book. It portrays a heist scene the best I've ever seen on a page. This issue sets up a plot that promises to be Loki's Eleven which is always a fun story to follow. Art is by Lee Garbett and isn't the most detailed, but when mixed with Nolan Woodard's colorization it provides a basic, flat look that works perfectly for the story. While the first issue caught my interest, this one has certainly caught my attention. 4 out of 5.

Now we'll hop over to Image for Velvet 4. Ms. Templeton attends the Carnival of Fools and hunts down an old rival from the KGB who is being hunted. After saving his life they discuss the situation he is in until he reveals a twist that turns her past upside down. More great work by Brubaker. I've been reading some of his Captain America and Winter Soldier stuff over on Comixology. They were both stellar, but don't have as excellent espionage as Velvet though. This story is still unravelling fairly slowly, but gives enough intrigue and mystery each issue to make it exhilarating. The art manages to capture the intensity of the moments and the joy and fun of the carnival only a couple pages apart. There's a 3/4 page panel that just glows with the excitement of the carnival and is 100% mesmerizing. Once again, can't wait for the next issue. 5 out of 5.

Now we will head over to DC for a bit of Green Arrow 29. Book 4 of the Outsiders War. This issue is just as good as the previous few. It does feel like it's dragging on too long to get to the actual story, but still a fun read. Oliver heads to Prague to take on Komodo and the spear clan and believes he has saved the city, but alas, he only stopped one of the four ships of sarin gas. Solid issue. I've already raved about Sorrentino's art in this book and this issue keeps up that trend. There's a lot of similarities to the Arrow show at the moment, but not in a bad way considering there's a limited number of characters who work well in a Green Arrow story. This issue is good more for the setup than for the actual events. Especially the cliff hanger which is mildly intriguing in the sense I want to know how Lemire gets out of it. Even though it's obviously a misdirection. Good, but nothing too impressive. 3 out of 5.

Now for this week. Justice League of America 13. This book is alright. Stargirl fights with Despero some more. It has possibly the worst twist I've read in a while. It's a cliched "by the way, what's been happening isn't really happening" story. It's also a story that just doesn't feel very fresh or exciting in any way. It's not horrible, just a resounding okay. 1.5 out of 5

Lastly, I got The Mercenary Sea 2. Fun book. This issue sets up the plot for the first full arc. The crew gets a job and sets off to do it. It's a very unique book and one that I never really thought I'd see. It's a beautiful book on top of it. Second issue is a whole lot of fun. Looking forward to reading the whole story. I said I was going to wait for trade on this one, but might pick up the first run in issue format. Like Loki, this book has grown in excellence. 4 out of 5.

Weekly Pull List 2-5-14

Picked up three books this week. First off we have a brand new Loki Agent of Asgard. The All-Mother sends Loki on a mission to midgard to infiltrate the Avengers tower and extract a darkness that is inside of Thor. Once he has accomplished that he hands it over to the All-Mother who release the old-school form of Loki from that darkness. This issue branches off from the previous arc in Thor God of Thunder. Fun little story by Al Ewing. The idea of now having multiple Lokis in this book is taken from Aaron's Thor God of Thunder having the three Thors. The art is pretty solid. A decent mix of realism and cartoonish style. There's an excellent flashback to when Thor was first exiled to Midgard that homages the classic printing style. It's really cool. I kinda wish the whole book was in that style. Great start to the book, with a promise of excellence to come. 3.5 out of 5.

Next up is Lazarus 6. Another great issue from the firm of Rucka and Lark. This issue moves from a family vs family story towards a more social commentary, family vs the public story. A group of teenagers breaks into a Carlyle facility and steals something that appears to be important, but we don't know what it is or why at this point, but they are heading to take care of something elsewhere in order to right some social injustice. Decent issue, but where it's headed is more exciting than where it's at currently. Great book, even if this issue is just okay. 3 out of 5.

Finally I picked up Green Arrow 28. Part 3 of the Outsiders War, Oliver is on the island with his father and Shado when they are attacked by Kodiak, the leader of the Shield Clan. The fight ensues among several pages of block lettered onomatopoeias in a really clever, albeit confusing art piece. It's the first time I've felt Sorrentino's art has been detrimental to the story as I had to interrupt my pace to get at what's happening. Meanwhile, Diggle shows up in Seattle looking for Oliver and Komodo plans a coup over the remaining Outsiders clans. Still one of my favorite books! It's so well written and has mostly perfect art. Great issue! Love this book so much, and can't wait for more of this story. 4 out of 5.

Pull List 2014 Part 1

And we're back. I didn't get to my last batch of books last year so I'll briefly go through those as well as what I've picked up so far this year. I got Justice League of America 10. A continuation of the forever evil tie in story with Martian Manhunter and Stargirl looking for the rest of the heroes. Good book. Then in issue 11 Stargirl and J'onn travel across the U.S. to get to her parents. Fighting, flashbacks, getting jumped by Despero and ending underwater fighting to surface. Nothing too incredible, I think it will be a better story after we get a few more issues to complete the story.

Lazarus 5 and 6. War is still building between the families. I need to go back and reread these issues. It's been a while. Still good. Rucka is as good as ever. Fun story. Great world. Beautiful art. I have zero complaints about this book.

Pretty Deadly 3 and 4. Another book that will be better in its entirety. Although issue 4 was the best so far as it actually led somewhere. There was some actual development that will matter after this issue. It did feel like a lot of set up, but I wish that this is where we were after issue 2. I will be rereading this series before the next issue so I will get more in depth at that point. The art in the most recent issue took a slight step up. It's almost as if Emma Rios is getting more comfortable with the book. It's got water color style muted colors that tell the gruesome story in the best way.

Thor God of Thunder 16 and 17. The conclusion to the Accursed story. A less obvious touch on a fairly obvious twist made this not quite as good as the previous godbomb story, but it still ended fairly well. As usual the dark elves are predictable in their savagery and chaos-loving natures for a great twist which promises this won't be the last of Malekith. Very solid arc overall, probably a 8 of 10. I'm really looking forward to where the book is going.

Superman Unchained 5. Decent book, but incredibly well written. The whole story feels pretty familiar, even though I have nothing to really compare it to. Wraith is an enemy, then a friend, then he isn't, then he is, and then he fires all the nuclear missiles in the world. The flashback to the first time Clark fries is pretty sweet. It's a fun story, but not the best. I'll give it another issue or two but it's not lasting long.

Next up is Green Arrow 27. Part 1 of the Outsiders War. Decent issue. The art, as usual, is phenomenal. Not really sure how to explain it, but I'll try. Sorrentino uses smaller panels to draw emphasis on small detail or transition between bigger moments. It's amazing. Easily my favorite art of any book right now. Story wise, Oliver goes back to the island and Shado helps convince him that he was stranded there for a reason. The book ends with a pretty shocking twist. I'm kinda wary about it and am withholding judgement until I see how it plays out. I've liked Lemire's work all over the New 52 so far, so I'm hopeful. Great book. Looking forward to the rest of this story.

Velvet 3. My favorite new book from 2013. A great spy thriller set to beautiful art by Steve Epting and incredibly colored by Elizabeth Breitweiser. It's a dark gritty tale is matched by the smooth watercolored backgrounds and stunning art. This issue introduces you to a character you grow to admire in the 23 pages of this single issue. Great mystery and intrigue. The characters are great. It's like reading a James Bond movie if Bond were female. Fantastic all around. Can't wait for more.

Finally I got a few issues (35-37) of Sixth Gun. It's not my favorite story of the series, but it's still got the mysticism and action that usually comes with it. Bunn nails it with the story and Hurtt's art is still excellent. I'm with this book as long as they keep making it. So that catches us up from the holidays. I'm hoping to keep this going steadily and get more other blogging in, so keep the good vibes heading this way.

Weekly Pull List 12-4-13

It's been awhile. Not because I've been busy, which I have, but because I haven't been to the comic store to pick anything up. So when I went back I figured I'd have a bunch to catch up on. Turns out I only have four.

Pretty Deadly 2 - Interesting book. Much easier to follow after listening to a podcast interview with Kelly Sue Deconnick where she explains that the book is a dead rabbit talking to a butterfly as narration. It's a very dark book. The art is incredibly versatile and creates the excellent world of the book. Still hard to tell where this book is going, I wish I had decided to wait for the trade to get the full story. I think it would work much better that way. 3 out of 5.

Velvet 2 - The plot thickens as Velvet heads out to prove she's not the guilty one in the murder of her colleague. Epting's art is still great for the intricate noir tale. While the previous book was good in getting me to look forward to more of the story, I'm looking forward to this book since it is already great. I am in love with the style and feel of the book. It's excellent. A lot of fun and Brubaker has fully won me over. 4.5 out of 5.

Amazing X-Men 2 - Wolverine and Northstar are exploring the afterlife when they come across a pirate ship. a fight ensues and ends with Wolverine being knocked off to fall to his death. Meanwhile, Storm, Firestar, and Iceman are exploring another part of the netherworld and get into a fight. Jason Aaron is great, and Mcguinness' art works beautifully. I don't like Storm's design in the new books, but it's not a big deal. More a personal preference. Solid book, but in itself not much happened. 4 of 5.

Green Arrow 26 - Part 1 of the Outsiders War. Lemire writes an excellent story. This book is exactly what I want from a Green Arrow book. Excellent story, trick arrows, good humor and Andrea Sorrentino's perfectly beautiful artwork. It's a little weird that the story kinda follows what happened in Arrow and also has similarities to JMS' Amazing Spiderman run with the totems and retconning the history of the character. A thoroughly good read and a great companion work to Arrow. Including Diggle! From the show! 4.5 out of 5.

Anyways, I should be back next week to talk some other books. A little brief this week due to working 12 hours today and being exhausted...

Bi-Weekly Pull List November Part 1

Several books over the first two weeks of November, and they're most of my favorites. All from the big two though. Over in Marvel I picked up a pair of books by Jason Aaron. The exquisite Thor: God of Thunder 15. This book takes the League of Realms through Alfheim and Jotunheim chasing Malekith and his band of dark elves. There is drinking, merriment, epic battles, and all around goodness. Aaron does great work exploring the worlds and showing Thor and his group. It's a whole bunch of fun and Garney's art helps portray the joyous, yet serious mood of this issue. This is still one of my favorite books ever! 5 out of 5.

Next up, I picked up Amazing X-Men 1. A book coming off the Battle of the Atom story and heading in a nice direction. Nightcrawler is sitting on the edge of paradise (read heaven) when Azazel and his little red BAMFs show up and they have a little showdown. Back in Westchester, Firestar shows up at the Jean Grey school for her first day of teaching. After a busy, busy day the teachers discover a portal inside a wall where a bunch of other BAMFs are hanging out. The discovery leads to Wolverine and Northstar being sucked in to warp them to paradise where they run into a giant pirate ship. Not a whole lot of interesting stuff here. But the promise of seeing Nightcrawler being a badass. It promises to be an epic series for sure. 4 out of 5.

Now over to DC. We've got Superman Unchained 4. This book is pretty good. Seperman teams up with knock off Superman. It's fun and there's a lot of solid action. Not much to say about it, but I like it and am in for the long run (even the short run if the rumors be true). 3 of 5.

Justice League of America 9 follows the Martian Manhunter and Stargirl as they go through the prison to find the others. Stargirl catches up with J'onn as he faces off with himself then they escape, only to be met by Deathstroke and several other villains. And oh yeah... the Manhunter is in Stargirl's head. Alright story. Great art. Fun book. Hope it goes well. 3 of 5.

Lastly, I've got Green Arrow 25. This book has the Zero Year tag on it. It takes place as Oliver returns to Seattle. Mrs. Queen has gone to Gotham to help those in need, accompanied by none other than John Diggle straight from CW's Arrow!! She gets attacked when Batman steps in. As he's about to lose, Green Arrow shows up. As always, Sorrentino's art is phenomenal and stylistically awesome. Great issue and a solid book all around. 5 of 5.