The Pull List – 2/11/09

Oh no! Two Pull List posts in a row, I’m slacking.

Thankfully my stack this week is about half that of the past two and with significantly less Marvel stuff. Still looks to be some good reading though. Here’s the three I chose for this week:

Batman #686 (DC)

By Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert
To say that I have eagerly been anticipating this two-part story is an understatement. An epic understatement. Neil Gaiman is by far one of my favorite storytellers. I use the word storyteller as opposed to author for a reason. He could be considered a novelist or author as he has several published novels that are quite good. He could be considered a writer as he has an intimate history in writing some of the best comics and graphic novels out there. But, what he really does with all these mediums is weave beautiful, intricate, archetypal stories. If you need proof or an example, you need only read his prolific and exalted comic opus, The Sandman. Read it and you will see how he can make any material timeless and amazing.
So Gaiman doing Batman. First off, the title of the story, “Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader?” is an homage to Alan Moore’s Superman story, “Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?”. Appropriately so, since these two are some of the headier, heavy-hitting writers in the biz. The story takes place at Batman’s funeral. His friends and enemies have all gathered to pay their last respects and Selina Kyle, Catwoman, speaks first, recounting their relationship and her version of how he died. Then Alfred takes his turn and tells a tale that can’t possibly be true. All the while, Batman himself is speaking with an unnamed character about how wrong all of this is.
Exactly where all of this is going, I can’t be sure, but I’m along for the ride. It’s only a two=part story too, which is nice, so the whole thing isn’t drawn out and we can get right into Battle For The Cowl in March. The question still remains as to just how dead Batman is because as we all know, no one really stays dead in comic books.

Incognito #2 (Marvel/Icon)

By Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
I could have sworn I already wrote about #1 but apparently not. No time like present.
This book is on Marvel’s Icon imprint, which is not unlike DC’s Vertigo I guess. While not quite as violent as the MAX stuff, it still allows the writers to stretch their vulgar, gritty limbs and make some really cool stuff without pissing off the parents. This creative team are the masterminds behind the wonderful Criminal series. Brubaker is the current king of noir comics, a today’s Frank Miller. This book is slightly noir but more pulp than anything else.
Incognito is about a former super-villain, thought dead, who has been put into a kind of witness protection program. He’s put on power-suppressing drugs, but eventually he grows dull of his normal life and takes to the streets, this time protecting people from bad guys. The kick for him is simply in the ass-kicking though, he has not a care for the victims themselves. Since the first issue, he’s been suspected and fingered and now he’s being extorted by a co-worker and pursued by his old gang of baddies. It’s pretty good stuff and yet another win from an already established killer team.

Thor #600

By J. Michael Straczynski, Olivier Coipel, and Marko Djurdjevic, Stan Lee, David Aja, Chris Giarrusso, and Jack Kirby
I have never read a single issue of Thor before. I take that back, I did pick up the Angers: Disassembled Thor trade but that’s it. But this book is huge! And expensive at $4.99. But it is, after all, a landmark issue.
So, I find it surprising I’ve never gotten into this book before considering how much I’ve always loved mythology of all kinds. JMS has done a remarkable job of making Thor modern and relevant while mainting the themes and motifs of Norse lore. I’m not sure what happened between Ragnarokk and what happens in this issue, or why Loki is a woman now, but it didn’t stop me from following and enjoying this story. We see Loki doing his/her usual trickstering but in a way that is more Machiavelli than Anansi. SPOILER ALERT: Thor battles his grandfather, Bor, who was brought back by Loki and also put under her spell. When the dust settles, Thor is victorious, but grief-stricken when he learns of his victim’s identity. Left with no choice, Balder banishes Thor from Asgard and Loki begins to manipulate the Asgardians into relocating to Latveria to couchsurf with Dr. Doom! I think Imight have to start following this a little more closely!

So here’s the reaminder of the list, sadly not reviewed.
Green Lantern Corps #33
Hellboy: The Wild Hunt #3
G.I. Joe #2
Nightwing #153
Punisher #2

Oh yeah, ran into EB5K at the comic shop and he passed along a flier for a cool art show coming up with him and Brian Gray and others. Looks really cool!

The Pull List Returns

What did I tell you? More Jacky-D than you can shake a stick at!

A couple months ago I tried to start a weekly post of my comic book picks of the week. My schedule prevented me from keeping up with it, but now I have nothing better to do. So, here you go True Believers…

This week’s books come from the good folks over at Universe of Superheroes in Riverside.



G.I. Joe #1 (IDW)
by Chuck Dixon and Robert Atkins
I never really read the DDP take on the Joes, but luckily it doesn’t matter as this seems to be a complete reboot of the series. My G.I. Joe knowledge is considerably rusty but it’s still a pretty fun and nostalgic read. G.I. Joe will be the main title with two others, Origins and Cobra, launching soon.


Green Lantern Corps #32 (DC)
by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason
This issue continues the Sins of the Star Sapphire storyline with ties to the pre-Sinestro Corps War Green Lantern storyline and focuses on Yellow Lantern, Kryb, as part of DC’s Faces of Evil crossover. Crossover probably isn’t the best word, but event doesn’t describe it either. Essentially, many books will be told from the perspectiveof, or at least focus on, the villains in the DCU as Final Crisis winds down. In this ish, just as a child is born to two Corps members, the Guardians make known the Third Law of The Book of Oa, forbidding love between Lanterns. Hundreds of Lanterns resign as a result and then Mongul makes a reappearance.



Titans #9 (DC)
by Judd Winnick, Howard Porter and J. Calafiore
Another Faces of Evil title, this one focuses on former Teen Titan and son of Deathstroke, Jericho. First, we get a tight little origin story of how Joey lost his voice and Deathstroke, his eye. The rest of the issue is Jericho controlling Nightwing and the Titans trying to determine who he has taken over while he goes over a bit of his past including the revelation that everyone he has ever taken over remains within him to some extent. Then the JLA show up demanding Jericho be released to them.



Faces of Evil: Prometheus One-Shot (DC)
by Sterling Gates and Federico Dallocchio
At first I wasn’t sure who this guy was then remembered him from Grant Morrison’s run on JLA. All a bit hazy though. Apparently he was a JLA villain with a vendetta against justice of any kind. After his defeat, Martian Manhunter put his juju on his brain and made him catatonic during his stay in Blackgate, the metahuman prison. After MM’s death (or whatever), Prometheus became free of his psychic grasp and escaped to confront his former protege, who had been masquerading as him for the past two years. You’ve got the story now, so no need to pick up the book really.

I picked up a few other titles, but they were from previous weeks and I only want to cover the week’s releases so that about does it. Until next time…

The Pull List: 11/12/08

Guess what dudes? I love comic books. And since this is my blog I’m starting a new posting of picks from my weekly pilgrimage to the comic shop.

I picked up this week’s stack from Strange Adventures in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, a great shop by all accounts. Here we go…

Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: Treachery #3 (Marvel)
Treachery is the third mini-series based on The Dark Tower series of books. I used to think King was kind of a hack with a knack for quantity over quality but I’ve since changed my opinion. The Dark Tower is his magnum opus and the comic book rendering of it is faithful, gorgeous, and delightful. Wether you are a new recruit or an old fan, this series is hot!

Stephen King’s The Stand: Captain Trips #3 (Marvel)
I was fairly convinced that The Dark Tower was the best of what King had to offer but I was willing to give The Stand a shot after learning it was a major inspiration to the creators of my favorite TV show, LOST. At over 1000 pages, it is a prolific novel that took me about five months to read. This adaptation is accurate as well but not quite as visually stimulating as The Dark Tower. Still a good way to get your fix though.

Galveston #1 (Boom! Studios)
What can I say, I’m a Native Texan, so when I spied with my little eye a comic book dealing with a piece of Texas history I couldn’t refuse. The Cassady-esque cover by Jeffrey Spokes is a little misleading. That and having two separate artists on the inside is distracting to me. The first few pages drawn by Greg Scott are a bit rough but promising but the follow-up by Todd Herman just strikes me as sloppy. The plot of Jim Bowie and the pirate Jean Lafitte’s adventures in pre-Revolution Texas seemed like an awesome idea but the execution leans a little towards the comical which I found off-putting. I’ll hang around to see where it goes out of shear curiosity and blind loyalty to the subject matter.

Green Lantern Corps #30 (DC)
The Sinestro Corps War has been by far the greatest far-reaching event in comics in quite some time. There was sufficient build-up and now the after-effects are just as exciting. Every Lantern title is building up to the next event and the tensions are high on Oa and throughout the universe. This book brings up some interesting points on the power of love as a source of good but with the potential for evil. We also get the newset addition to The Book of Oa and it will probably ruffle some feathers.

JSA Kingdom Come Special: Superman One-Shot (DC)
The original Elseworlds Kingdom Come book was what got me back into comic books after a long hiatus. Alex Ross’ art blew me away and all the imagination and complexity that went into the story let me know that there was still a place for me in that world. So when the signs of a melding of the Kingdom Come Universe and the regular DCU began to appear in the Justice Society of America relaunch, I was so full of fanboy glee I thought I might burst! I wasn’t able to follow the JSA title as closely as I would have liked but you can always count on a one-shot to give you a good story without having to know every detail of what’s going on around it. That and this one is written and drawn by Ross so booyah! JSA is one of the best DC books out there and with Geoff Johns at the helm it can hardly do any wrong in my eyes.

Batman: Cacophany #1
Not being able to follow the flagship Batman or Detective Comics titles and Grant Morrison’s taste for the bizarre has distanced me from being up to date with the current RIP storyline so I was all about a good old-fashioned Dark Knight story. And the fact that it’s penned by none other than Kevin Smith didn’t hurt a bit. Very pleased where this story is going. New villain and an appearance by Deadshot have the makings of a great arc/mini-series.

The Cleaners #1 (Dark Horse)
Dark Horse books are like a breath of fresh air in this age of muddled continuity and endless crossovers from The Big 2. They have so many great titles and continue to come out with new and exciting stuff that pushes the envelope in the comics industry. With no notion of what this new book was about, I was drawn to the clean white cover splattered with blood and very pleased with the result. Whilst reading it I got the sneaking suspicion that there was much buried beneath the surface storyline and was proven right, albeit subtly, in the final frame. Definitely going to follow up on this title.

Alright, that about does it for this week. Thanks for indulging and feel free to comment on your opinions of these books and anything I may have missed this week.

Comics and Classics: Latest Victims of the Economic Crisis

Comics and Classics, the best little comic shop at the beach, has decided to close its doors due to the current state of our faltering economy. This is particularly upsetting news considering the vision of C+C included bringing together and showcasing local artists. I received this rather upsetting email yesterday and had to find out what was up:

Hello, All-

It is with great sadness that I must inform all of our pull list customers that Comics & Classics will be closing in the near future. At this point, I do not have a clear idea of when that will be. I am very sorry to let you know that I am unable to accept Diamond’s shipment this Wednesday and will not be able to fill your pull list from this point forward. Any comics from previous shipments are in your pull and will be held until Oct. 31st. We have greatly appreciated the loyal support of the customers who discovered us and enjoyed the experience we tried to bring to Jacksonville. This was a dream Percy and I had since our dating years together and we were very happy running our little store. I am deeply apologetic for not being able to bring you your comics this week and in the future. We did not expect to have to make this decision as suddenly as we have. We ask for your understanding. If there are any collectibles, works of art, books or other merchandise you are interested in, I am happy to negotiate a discounted price for you, so that we can pay our creditors.

Much Joy and Peace-
Kimberly Johnson

Apparently the banks just aren’t lending any money and with a place as new as C+C, it takes money to make money. I’m extremely bummed about this and what it means for small businesses, particularly those just getting started. I can’t imagine how it must feel to have a dream, follow it, and then have it crushed due to shady lending practices and bad decisions on the part of politicians.

Even though this article spells out some of the benefits of our current situation, these are hard times folks. Dark days and all that gloom and doom stuff. For me, this whole economic crisis business hadn’t really hit home until now. Being in the military, I can depend on a steady paycheck and even a cost of living raise just about every year. But in just a few months when that pay stops I have a feeling it is going to be heavy seas indeed.

In the meantime you can go by Comics and Classics and help them get rid of their inventory to pay off their creditors. They are offering some amazing sales from 30-80% off on selected items. I bought a big ol’ stack of trades all for 30% off. There are tons of back issues for just $1 as well. And there is still a ton of art on the wall from local artists such as EdBot5000, Squid Dust, Toy Crusher and Brian Gray, like this piece of his I purchased yesterday. Very cool…

So, screw the economy! I’m putting it in the axis of evil for messing with my favorite comic shop.

Superhero Lecture Series at MOCA

Head on over to The Outer Box for info on what looks like an incredibly awesome event at MOCA Jacksonville in Novemeber. If you love comic books half as much as I do, you won’t be able to resist this day of lecture and discussion. The price tag looks a little steep but I’m going to try and swing it regardless.