The $40 Pull List – May 2007
If this is your first time reading the $40 Pull List, I invite you to see how it works by reading the first edition. Therin you will find all the rules governing the list, and the selection of titles. It isn’t too complicated, though, so just dive right in if you don’t feel like reading back issues! In addition, this column contains Spoilers, so if you are waiting for the trade, read at your own risk!
An overall decent month – no real hard choices about what to keep and what to dump, though there was at least one surprise. The potential budget crisis was easily averted – so while we don’t’ need to worry about dropping a title to make way for a new book to sample, we are faced with the equally daunting task of filling up the list with a bunch of new books, and still maintaining some diversity.
Well, only one person last month seemed to know the answer to the Buffy trivia question, and has won the issue of his choice as a prize. Surprise to me – I expected that would be an easy one! Oh well, perhaps I will go with something a little easier the next time I opt to run a contest.
Silent War #4, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 04/25/07. ON TIME Hmmm – this issue was definite padding. To give it credit for any more would be far too generous. It does seem possible that Hine is building towards a new status quo for the Inhumans, but that might be reading into things too much. In short, this was an off chapter, but it does still seem that there are bold things on the horizon. Hopefully things pick back up again next issue.
Status: SAFE
The Brave and the Bold #3, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 04/18/07. ON TIME Much more enjoyable this time around, even the Supergirl parts. A Supergirl/Lobo team-up next month is a little worrisome, but provided she isn’t throwing herself at him the whole issue like she was Hal Jordan, it might be tolerable. But as expected, the Blue Beetle/Batman team-up was an awesome one. I especially liked Batman’s interaction with La Dama, and though that was a very clever way to get her into the story. Things are starting to get a little confusing – this title could be quite well served by a recap page. Waid did an outstanding job portraying Jaime as a nervous kid afraid of messing up, and Waid played Batman perfectly: still in character as the frightening Dark Knight, but through that intimidation, someone who has a great deal of experience working with young, less-skilled partners. Batman the mentor came out here, and that dynamic would have been missed by most writers taking on this story. Issue #4 isn’t due out until June 20th, so a we will have a month off on this one.
Status: SAFE
Buffy The Vampire Slayer #2, $2.99, Dark Horse. Due out 04/04/07. ON TIME Am I the only one out there that winces whenever “Scooby Gang” is used in reference to Buffy’s circle? Don’t ask me why, that description always bugged the heck out of me. Anyway, the issue! Moreso than the first issue, the voices of the characters were really strong. You could see this being a script of the show, and imagine the actors saying the lines. That is one of the two key components that will make this series a success. So far the story does feel like a continuation of the show, and that is the biggest mark going for this title. In terms of negative – the story really isn’t all that interesting. We still haven’t got any “grand scheme” for this group, and the issue suffers as a result. Early in the show, it was one Slayer (and her friends to support her) who slayed vampires. But Buffy was alone – she didn’t have an army at her disposal, and she had to balance the Slayer with a normal life. That struggle gave the story focus. Maybe Whedon is building a new focus, and figures the show’s popularity (as well as his own) will keep the interest of the reader while he does that. It might work too – there is some excitement reading “The further adventures of,” and as long as Whedon realizes the existing status quo won’t work for very long, this book should be safe for the long term. If not – around issue #8, the luster is going to start to wear off. Still strong – but not inpenertrable.
Status: SAFE
Blade of the Immortal #123, $2.99, Dark Horse. Due out 03/14/07. ON TIME
Blade of the Immortal #124, $2.99, Dark Horse. Due out 04/11/07. ON TIME As it turns out, #123 was on time too. Neither LCS in my area have any idea why they didn’t get it last month, nor do they seem to know when they actually did get it. Strange. These two issues proved as difficult to read as #122 – and while it is clear that Samura does have something special here, it loses too much in the translation for the casual read. For a student of the genre – a powerful title. But especially for someone like me who just isn’t that into the manga in the first place it is just too much, despite the obvious skill that went into its creation. Perhaps I will try out a different Manga title again sometime in the future, but for now, this title is more trouble than it is worth.
Status: DROPPED
Wyrms #3, $2.99, Marvel/Dabel Brothers. Due out 04/18/07. Released: 04/18/07 You know what is missing from this? A few page sequence where we are given a graphic interpretation of what Patience feels when the Cranning Call comes over her. That is the real weakness in this title – a lack of boldness with the adaptation. In comics, you don’t get pages and pages of color. In the Wyrms novel, Card spent a great deal of time explaining exactly what Patience was going through when she felt the call. That kind of description doesn’t work of your adaptation deals mostly with the dialogue. Bolder steps are needed for something like that, even if it means you need to create a sequence based on Card’s description that really drives the point home to the reader. That alone would take this series from something that fans of the book would enjoy to something everyone would have to read. As it is, I am a fan of the book, so I am enjoying the heck out of it. So it stays!
Status: SAFE
Hellblazer #231, $2.99, DC Comics/Vertigo. Due out 04/18/07. ON TIME What a great start. As with the last issue, the only real drawback to this issue was the dodgy flashback style. That problem would have been compounded for a new reader picking up THIS issue for the first time – if you didn’t know what they were flashing back too, you would have no idea what was going on. Beyond that, no too packed, but not too padded, easy to follow and generally enjoyable. Diggle seems to be a really good fit for this title – I can’t wait to see what he has lined up next.
Status: SAFE
Noble Causes #29, $3.50, Image Comics. Due out 04/18/07. NOT YET RELEASED Grumble. Well, it is Image, and tardiness is something you just have to expect. #29 is now set to be released this Wednesday, with #30 slated for release on May 16th. Expect #30 to be pushed back as well – hopefully they don’t fall too far behind.
Spider-man Loves Mary Jane #17, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/11/07. ON TIME You know, after a few months, it is really easy to see how this book can become a guilty pleasure. Like any good soap opera, it is corny at times, all about who is hooking up with who (or trying to steal who), and all the drama that comes as a result, but you can’t pull yourself away. Of course, McKeever’s time is rapidly coming to a close on this title, which makes it difficult to get too emotionally invested in it – what will happen once he says goodbye? Will Marvel cancel the title? Hand it over to Warren Ellis and David Finch? Chuck Austen and Rob Liefeld? Well, best to cross that bridge when we get to it. For now (and as far as this list is concerned), I am going to stick with it until then.
Status: SAFE
Jonah Hex #18, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 04/04/07. ON TIME Yikes! Talk about a story. Jonah got played hard here, and despite his brain telling him that he should mind his own business, his heart won out and it cost him. This just isn’t a quandary normal super-heroes ever have – when Jonah Hex jumps in a fight, people die. And if he picks the wrong side – well, that is a lot of weight for one soul to carry. Kind of explains why Jonah is so hesitant to help the people he comes across who seem to be in real need to the reader, who knows the rest of the story. Enjoyable as always.
Status: SAFE
All Star Superman #7, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 04/11/07. ON TIME I guess you could call it on time. It was supposed to come out in March, but once there was finally a solid date attached to it, it was pushed back another month. It was an enjoyable read, but in the end it wasn’t worth the wait. It was a little confusing, especially for those who hadn’t read the previous issues and didn’t understand what things like the Underverse were. Morrison has developed a great classic feel here, and as a monthly, this would be a tremendous title. Unfortunately, the extreme wait between issues really amplify its flaws. It is really more trouble than it is worth to have to keep your ear to the ground and watch for the next issue, whenever it comes out. It seems to make more sense to drop this on in favor of another Superman book that actually comes out once a month.
Status: DROPPED
Doctor Fate #1, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 04/18/07. DELAYED DROPPED As you may recall, Doctor Fate was pushed back by DC, necessitating a new title to take its place this month. A poll was posted, and the winner of that poll turned out to be:
Runaways #25, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 4/04/07. ON TIME A lot of goods and bads with this issue. The negative aspects might be something that works itself out with time, but it is tough to tell. Firstly, Molly’s dialogue was annoying. I know she is a little kid, but Whedon had her talking way too much like a baby. He needs to turn that down a notch. There was a bit of confusion brought on by the plot as compared to where the last issue left of – but that brings up the obvious “SHEILD is having them set up Fisk” plot twist, which we will no doubt see. The appearance of the Punisher at the end of the issue sure opened the door to an exciting part II. Plus the story wasn’t padded at all, despite expectations. Not excellent – but a solid good. Sadly, not quite good enough to keep my interest. With the Buffy book, we already have one Whedon title – as we learned with Dynamo 5 and Noble Causes, with a limited budget, it is better to spread the wealth around.
Status: DROPPED
Nova #1, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 04/11/07. ON TIME Ah, old Buckethead is back. And as good as we could have possibly have expected. After Annhihilation came to an end, a logical problem remained – what of the Nova Corps? This issue features Richard Rider trying his best to take on the duties of the entire Nova Corps, but ultimately finding it is too difficult a task for one man. This issue was all about Nova at the breaking point, but still trying to push on despite the fact that what he is trying to do is impossible. It is hard enough to protect a single planet, but to be hero to an entire galaxy? This issue really established Nova’s heroic spirit, something that was never in short supply, but it also demonstrated the fact that this isn’t the pushover Nova of old. Something Iron Man will no doubt find out when they come bucket to helmet next issue. Can’t wait. Not a shred of doubt on this one.
Status: SAFE
—
LATE OR UNRELEASED PULL LIST ISSUES
Rex Libris #8, $2.95, Slave Labor. Due out 05/09/07.
Noble Causes #29, $3.50, Image Comics. Due out 05/02/07.
-=MAY PULL LIST:=-
Titles carrying over:
Silent War #5, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 05/30/07.
The Brave and the Bold #4, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 06/20/07.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer #3, $2.99, Dark Horse. Due out 05/02/07.
Wyrms #4, $2.99, Marvel/Dabel Brothers. Due out 05/16/07.
Hellblazer #232, $2.99, DC Comics/Vertigo. Due out 05/23/07.
Noble Causes #29, $3.50, Image Comics. Due out 05/02/07.
Noble Causes #30, $3.50, Image Comics. Due out 05/16/07.
Spider-man Loves Mary Jane #18, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/02/07
Jonah Hex #19, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 05/02/07.
Nova #2, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/09/07.
Rex Libris #8, $2.95, Slave Labor. Due out 05/09/07.
New Titles:
Superman #662, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 05/02/07. Despite the general annoyance at having to wait three months between issues (The scheduled 2 plus the extra month for lateness), it was kind of nice having Superman on the list. So it seemed to make sense to give at least one of them a shot this month. With all the weirdness going on at Action Comics due to the delays, it seemed better to give this title a shot. The fact that a new story arc seems to be starting up made the timing all the better.
The Exterminators #17, $2.99, DC Comics/Vertigo. Due out 05/07/07. This title gets nothing but raves, so perhaps it is time we give it a shot. Expect disturbing – when you have bugs as the antagonists, you have to expect creepy and crawly. I am not sure if this qualifies as horror, but it is as close as we have really come to filling that particular niche in this list. Hopefully it fits the bill.
TOTAL: $39.85
Budget = $40.00 + $1.45 (Banked) + $3.77 (LATE books) = $45.22
$45.22 (Budget) – $39.85 (May issues) – $3.09 (tax) = $2.28 banked for May
This coming weekend is a special time for all comic fans – especially those on a budget – Free Comic Book Day! So Saturday, May 5th, grab a friend and get down to your local comic shop, and see what the various publishers have to offer. Should be a good one! Also, be on the lookout for my annual Free Comic Book Day Rundown column, which should be up sometime this weekend (or Monday), depending on how big a stack it is.
As always, I have made a list to print out a list to take with you to the store: Here you go! Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view the file – I am sure most of you have that though. If not, you can download the latest version for free at Adobe.com.
Thanks for reading – see you next month!
Post your comments in the Forum!
April 25, 2007
On The Shelf This Week – 04.25.07
ON THE SHELF THIS WEEK
by Craig Reade
DARK HORSE
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USAGI YOJIMBO #102, $2.99, 24 Pages. By Stan Sakai. Issue #100 was great, but I must admit it is nice to be right back to business. When you have one writer/artist writing the same character for so many years, and maintaining this level of consistency, it is tough to write blurbs without repeating yourself a dozen times over. Sometimes, though, I wish Sakai would do another comics book. Not that I would ever want to see Usagi come to an end, but he has such a gift, it would be kind of nice to see what else he could do.
DC COMICS
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52 WEEK #51, $2.50, 32 Pages. Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid; Breakdowns by Keith Giffen; Art by various; Backup features by Waid and various. So last week was the 52 bulge – issue #50 along with 4 World War III tie in issues. Was it good? Of course – the Black Adam storyline was arguably the best of the bunch, and last week’s issue was the climax. Was it worth it? Not really. Issue #50 was worth it – it was an excellent chapter of 52, but the World War III mini was largely frivolous and essentially a waste. Not every event needs to be awesome, but DC gambled a lot of reader goodwill with what amounted to an effort to increase sales.
ACTION COMICS #848, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Fabian Nicieza; Art by Allan Goldman. A new team on Action Comics – hopefully Nicieza will manage to please the fans until the Last Son story picks up again in June with issue #851. A lot of fans have been really critical of these fill-in issues on titles like this one and Wonder Woman – they should be more upset with the marketing gimmicks like World War III solely intended to boost sales than this. The publishing line-wide shake up at the start of One Year Later ended up being a pretty huge mistake, and DC suffered a hit in sales. To compound the backlash from the mistake, the “big-name talent” they got to put together certain marquee titles just didn’t turn in their work on time. You can’t just expect DC to hold of on Action Comics, one of their biggest sellers, for an indefinite amount of time, just because the people they hired to turn in a monthly book didn’t get the job done. You just can’t run a business that way. Nicieza should be well up to the task of telling a fill in story. In the meantime, direct your anger at the interruption towards the deserving party – the creative team.
AMAZONS ATTACK #1 (OF 6), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Will Pfeifer; Art and Cover by Pete Woods. The tide shifts so rapidly these days. A “major event” just isn’t going to be well received right now from any publishing company, but it seems like DC has really done the most to foul the water of late. So seeing DC release the first “major comics event of 2007!” doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Will Pfiefer does, however. If anyone can make the premise of the Amazons attacking America work, it is him. Curious to see what he plans to do with this one.
BLUE BEETLE #14, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by John Rogers; Art by Rafael Albuquerque. So Rogers is off to a decent start, but there are worse ways to start off a book than solving one of the major mysteries of the title right off the bat. He hasn’t done much to improve the book, but it is still sitting pretty comfortably in that “Solid, fun read” range. New story arc this week – could be worth checking out. Especially for fans of Guy Gardner.
CATWOMAN #66, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Will Pfeifer; Art by David Lopez and Alvaro Lopez. This is the longest that Catwoman has been this interesting – well, ever. And thinking about it, Holly has basically become Selina’s sidekick, which is just weird. Interesting, but weird! Pfeifer has taken everything the DC Editors have thrown at him in terms of major events and gimmicks, and kept this title fresh and interesting. It is always a good month to try this book out.
CONNOR HAWKE DRAGONS BLOOD #6 (OF 6), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Chuck Dixon; Art and Cover by Derec Donovan. And this series quickly comes to an end. Dixon has a way with these “street level” heroes – his stint on Nightwing was outstanding and I am still missing Way of the Rat. In any case, it looks like he managed to work his majic on Connor Hawke as well, and turned in a great story. This one should make a decent trade purchase if you happened to miss the issues.
JSA CLASSIFIED #25, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Tony Bedard; Art by Dennis Calero. A stand-alone issue this month focusing on Alan Scott. This title is right back on track with what made it so good in the first place – short arcs highlighting a member of the Justice Society. After this Green Lantern issue, we will be treated to a Wildcat two-parter, followed by another one-shot featuring Jakeem Thunder. A great resource if you are a newer reader and aren’t quite up-to-date on some of these lesser-known characters.
JUSTICE #11 (OF 12), $3.50, 32 Pages. Written by Jim Krueger and Alex Ross; Art by Doug Braithwaite and Ross. A classic example of a book that just isn’t aimed at me. Personally, I can’t see what is so exciting about it. Alex Ross’s art really isn’t all that special to me (in terms of comic art is it unique, but as a painter he isn’t particularly amazing). And the first couple issues of this series in particular bored me to tears. The few I have flipped through since I dropped this one haven’t really done anything to improve my opinion. It continues to be reviewed extremely well, however, so chances are you are already reading it. To each their own, I suppose!
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #5, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Geoff Johns; Art by Fernando Pasarin; Cover by Alex Ross. Barely four issues to establish itself, and we are already getting a crossover? Talk about compounding one mistake with another. Thankfully, it will be a short setback that Johns will have no difficulty recovering from, but it does seem like DC forgot what spiked its sales in the first place. It wasn’t crossovers, or big names, or mega events, it was quality storytelling. Marvel is the undisputed king of the marketing game in comics – why DC is trying to take them on that way when they were doing so well just putting out consistently good comics is beyond me. Hopefully after next issue, this title will have a nice long unmolested run, and finally establish itself.
SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #29, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Mark Waid; Art by Barry Kitson and Mick Gray. Waid has been on this title for so long, through a couple relaunches, if memory serves. Like this title or no, you have to give this team credit for consistency. This issue will be exactly as exciting or as boring as the very first issue you read. Well worth trying out – and if you do happen to enjoy the issue, you can bet that this title will serve you well for years to come. Never been a fan of this title, but Waid and Kitson do deserve credit for at least that. And, there is a trade available this week if you find you like it and are curious to see more. [i]Also Available: SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES VOL 4, $14.99, 192 Pages[/b]. Written by Mark Waid and Tony Bedard; Art by Barry Kitson. Collecting issues #20-25.
TEEN TITANS GO #42, $2.25, 32 Pages. Written by J. Torres; Art by Mike Norton and Lary Stucker. This is the first time I have ever looked at an issue of Go! with any skepticism – Raven’s fractured emotional “beings” never seemed like a concept that was good for more than one story – not something that ever seemed like an idea that could make a comeback. Well, they are trying it anyway. Hope Torres has a good idea with this one.
WONDER WOMAN #8, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Jodi Picoult; Art and Cover by Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson. Picoult’s story seems to be getting more interesting – though still not quite there. You can tell she is a novelist by reading this story – it has been pointed out time and time again, but you can’t just take a successful novelist and stick them on a comic and expect an outstanding story. As you can already see with this arc, the story has a build – and while that is great when you have the entire story right in front of you, serial stories require punch with each and every chapter. You don’t have throwaway chapters – you need something to hook the reader right off the bat. It also seems like Picoult has only a cursory familiarity with the character, almost as if she is writing based on a short Wonder Woman profile, and not from a well-researched knowledge base. Ah well, not to worry. Gail Simone is up to bat soon enough. That is something well worth waiting for.
VERTIGO
CROSSING MIDNIGHT #6, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Mike Carey; Art by Jim Fern and Mark Pennington. This title has earned some decent reviews so far, but are they genuine? Carey no doubt has a lot of fans who crossed over to this title from Lucifer, and usually when a writer has a devout fanbase like that it is tough to tell whether raves on a book are genuine or not. Some of the less positive reviews indicate that Crossing Midnight is slow, boring even. In his defense, Carey does weave a pretty intricate story when writing an ongoing, and designs his stories so that you do need to read for the long term to really appreciate it. That doesn’t always work in the serial format, but he has done ok with it in the past. This is a rare case of “stick with it” – knowing Carey, it won’t be long before you can’t put it down.
EXTERMINATORS #16, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Simon Oliver; Art by Tony Moore and John Lucas. This four issue arc comes to an end this month. It is kind of strange, but Vertigo quietly beefed up their line. For a while it seemed like they had one miss after another, and with long-standing books like Y and Lucifer coming to an end, it looked like Fables was the only thing they had going. Now they have two Fables books, this title, DMZ, Testament seems to be turning around, Crossing Midnight is working for a lot of readers. And Hellblazer looks to be on track for the long-term with the new creative team. Looks like Vertigo’s mojo is the last thing we need to worry about right now.
WILDSTORM
ASTRO CITY THE DARK AGE BOOK TWO #3, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Kurt Busiek; Art by Brent Anderson. This book is just impossible to get excited about anymore. Sure, it is a fantastic piece of work. But we are lucky if it comes out every three months. That is just way too long between issues to maintain an appeal. If you aren’t specifically looking for it, how are you supposed to know when it hits? Busiek has a great story here, and only the fraction of the audience it could have if this team sucked it up and put this book out monthly. A real shame.
RED MENACE #6 (OF 6), $2.99, 32 Pages.Written by Danny Bilson, Paul DeMeo and Adam Brody; Art by Jerry Ordway and Al Vey. This title started to take a turn into some fresh ground, but it may have been too little too late to turn this into something really special. For what it was, though, it hasn’t been bad – depending on how it ends, of course.
MARVEL COMICS
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CABLE DEADPOOL VOL 6 PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS TP, $14.99, 168 Pages. Written by Fabian Nicieza, Art by Staz Johnson and Reilly Brown. Civil War has just ended, so it seems like the time for all the arcs that crossed into Civil War to come out in trade. This is one such arc – focusing a lot on Deadpool and his efforts to gain a little notoriety by helping to hunt down heroes who refuse to register. As you might expect with Deadpool, the journey itself is hilarious. A very strong arc.
CIVIL WAR FANTASTIC FOUR TP, $17.99, 184 Pages. Written by J. Michael Straczynski and Dwayne McDuffie, Art by Mike McKone. While it doesn’t look like there are going to be any permanent, long-lasting changes to the Fantastic Four based on the events of this arc (but really, did you honestly think there would be?), this did turn out to be a pretty strong read. Reed’s motivations seemed totally irrational in the event itself, but Straczynski did a good job of making some sense out of them. A good read if you are a Fantastic Four fan who is baffled by the Richards’ portrayal in that event.
DAREDEVIL #96, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Ed Brubaker, Art by Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, and Matt Hollingsworth. After a year of breakneck-paced stories, reading something that is a little less tense almost seems like a let down. Almost. This arc is a much-needed breather (still good, don’t get me wrong) – hopefully it isn’t a let down to anyone who really enjoyed the stories that came before.
EXILES #93, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Chris Claremont, Art by Paul Pelletier, Rick Maygar, and Wil Quinana. With Austen gone, it does seem that Claremont has become the internet whipping boy of choice. While his run on Exiles hasn’t really been nearly as good as this title has been, it has shown a little improvement over the past few issues. Granted, it isn’t going to be wholly satisfactory to hard-core long-time Exiles fans, but it is a fairly decent, if generic, read right now. Not a ton of potential for more, but there are worse books out there.
FALLEN SON DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA AVENGERS, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Jeph Loeb, Art by Ed McGuinness. The death of Captain America is certainly worth this kind of attention (several one-shot specials and tie-in arcs), but there has been some negative backlash to this incident. But in all seriousness, Marvel hasn’t really done anything wrong here. Most of the backlash stems from the belief that Captain America will be alive and kicking 6 months down the road, and that this is all marketing and no substance. Based on Marvel’s recent history, can you blame people for this point of view? Once Bucky came back, all bets were off. It is probably a forgone conclusion that Captain America will at some point come back (all major heroes always do), but with luck it won’t turn out to be as contrived as many fans fear.
FANTASTIC FOUR #545, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Dwayne McDuffie, Art by Paul Pelletier, Rick Maygar, and Paul Mounts. So there is a new Fantastic Four – at least in the short term. A new writer as well – which isn’t sitting well with fans of J. Michael Straczynski. To McDuffie’s credit, he has managed to tell a fairly entertaining, if formulaic, Fantastic Four story. The cover of this issue features Galactus and his heralds – you knew that he would show up again at some point with the movie coming out. McDuffie is off to a promising start – hopefully he is fully up to speed once the team is officially back together.
HEROES FOR HIRE #9, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Zeb Wells, Art by Clay Mann, Terry Pallot, and Brad Anderson. Zeb Wells got off to an OK start last issue – still not great, but he had a pretty big hole to dig out of. The fact that he was starting off on the last issue of a story arc doesn’t help matters much. Even with this cast intact, if Wells drops the “edgy” attitude, and dials back on the salaciousness, this title could be a pretty good read. Though if this arc doesn’t go well, the future isn’t going to be bright for this book.
NEW EXCALIBUR #19, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Chris Claremont, Art by Scot Eaton, John dell, and Peter Pantazis. Hmmm, a Captain Britain from an alternate universe? Wow, talk about an obvious open door for the inevitable New Excalibur Exiles crossover. In all fairness, Claremont’s writing on this book has been particularly good of late. Maybe not up to modern standards for story depth, but a fairly fun casual read.
POWERS #24, $2.95, 32 Pages. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by Michael Avon Oeming. It has been two years (well, counting this as a monthly book) since Powers moved to Marvel’s ICON imprint, and with each successive issue, the extreme decompression of this title shows more and more. There are interesting things happening here, but things are so stretched out that it doesn’t really seem like much more than a few issues of story has actually been told at this point. An interesting story, but it would be so much better if things weren’t so padded.
PUNISHER PRESENTS BARRACUDA MAX #3 (OF 5), $3.99, 32 Pages. Written by Garth Ennis, Art by Goran Parlov and Dan Brown. This isn’t quite as violent as expected to this point, but you can bet that won’t last long. Ennis is doing an excellent job with this character so far, and Punisher fans seem to be happy. Will be a good one to pick up if you enjoy the ongoing MAX Punisher series.
SILENT WAR #4 (OF 6), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by David Hine, Art by Frazer Irving. This series just seems to be flying by, which is both good and bad. Good because the wait does not seem like an eternity, bad because when it is over, who knows if there will be another follow-up or not. Maybe if we are lucky, we will get a Hine penned Quicksilver and/or the Inhumans ongoing.
Craig’s Pick of the Week
FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MAN #35, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Dwayne McDuffie; Art by Pop Mhan and Rob Stull. This is a heartbreaker. This series may have never been Manhunter good, but it was up there. Jason Rusch had an uphill battle with the fans – first from those who didn’t like the way Ronnie Raymond was basically forgotten (and how his death was quickly added to Identity Crisis), and later was criticized for being and “affirmative action” character, as DC was quickly killing and replacing heroes in a fairly transparent effort to be more politically correct. The thing was – thanks in large part to the work of Stuart Moore, Jason Rusch really grew into the mantle so much more than any of the other “PC recasts” have. This was a solid book, and does deserve a much longer life than it turns out to have had. Hopefully this isn’t the last we will see of Jason Rusch’s Firestorm.
NOTE: Opinions here may not reflect those of X-World Comics LLC or it’s staff and are solely the opinions of the writer.Want to comment on this week’s newsletter? Give your feedback here!
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April 18, 2007
The Gamer’s Quagmire #44: The Gaming Motivational Spectrum
Everything you wanted to know about gaming, and less.
by Jamison DeLorenzo
Sometimes all you need is a little motivation. Even when your job is completely draining you and you have no mental energy when you get home to do anything but stare at the wall sometimes some slight motivation is all you need to do something you have been meaning to do for months. Don’t get me wrong, staring at a wall is a lot of fun and soothing and everyone should do it every day. The fact that I have not been in the mood to even look at video games at all in over 3 weeks has been consternation and I have been struggling to understand why. Wrestling with your conscience sucks.Okay, the fact that I have not written anything in 3 weeks because of a severe lack in downtime is also a motivator. In case you were wondering why I felt compelled to release an article in the middle of a week, there’s why.
In all fairness I know exactly what the problem is and have been unwilling to admit it for several months now. Like any addict in need of help it is time to face the problem head on. World of Warcraft has completely drained my willingness to play games. It’s a lot of fun to play, collecting gear, killing stuff- everything an RPG fan wants for online play (outside of a coherent universe). I regret none of the time I have spent playing this game. The problem is that after playing it for close to 2 years I really have to question what I am still logging in for. I’ve got multiple level 70 characters, a couple more in the 60’s, and have been into and through mostly every dungeon. Finding the motivation to play more is quite a struggle.
When I wrote about Gaming Connoisseur Detachment Syndrome and Adventurer’s Perfectionist Disorder I apparently knew more than I realized at the time. APD kept me playing World of Warcraft for such a long time that the tightly wound ball of perfection that kept me playing for so long finally unraveled. I want to keep playing as there are still plenty of different challenges left uncompleted (the APD side of the equation), but caring enough to complete them has not happened. The problem, once again, is motivation. It is comforting to finally know what my own breaking point is for such games.
Misguided or aimless motivation is much worse than no motivation, however. After discussing the intricacies of the gamer points systems for the current generation of gaming consoles there was one question that currently remains unanswered- what do these points really buy you? Can you use achievement points to retrieve prizes or are these points nothing more than a way for gamers to measure their egos? Do 20,000 online points make you a good gamer or does it simply mean you are a mindless points zombie? Granted, it is very comforting to know that Microsoft managed to create a system where people mutually started an arms race for points which has turned into nothing more than an inflated revenue stream for gaming rental outlets.
This point, by the way, needs to be the lynchpin for anyone who wants to write a gaming industry doomsday article. I’m not saying this just because I miss reading these silly articles either. The internet and housing bubbles have burst and there is a pattern to it. I’m not one of those people that looks to blame the worlds’ ills on Microsoft (the unbearable console hard drive is enough for now), but you cannot dismiss the effect gaming points have on rentals.
Incidentally, the virtual king of the mountain is an exciting event to witness. Honestly I am having trouble believing this is anything but a virtual Cuban Missile Crisis game. People are stockpiling points that, as of this point in time, they will never use. It’s not like you can unlock content or download special items if you have an obscene amount of points. I have about 2,000 and I’m already completely disinterested in collecting any more. Granted, there is no impending doom or worst-case scenario of massive fallout or a nuclear winter with online gaming points, but when gamers force themselves to play games of the Fusion Frenzy 2 variant. Note the word choice- this points race is viral and you need to understand that. Anything less than accepting this is… unacceptable.
Is there a challenge out there that is worth chasing? I have fun playing many different games, but when you feel like you are simply biding time until the release of a couple games for the PC can there really be any motivation to play what is currently available? This poses a major motivation threat to online games. You see the ticker on the clock for when you know you will stop playing the game, so is there a real point to running yourself into the ground when, after you leave, you know you aren’t coming back? Sure, online game developers have the great ability to add new levels of content to appease the hardcore player, but there’s only so much you can do to distract a gaming connoisseur before he realizes there are about 30 different games he needs to catch up on.
What the sickening part of the online points system is that I have been looking for ways to lay down may gaming credentials against everyone else. I’ve had a knack for racing games for a long time, and while both Gran Turismo and Gotham City Racing provide good challenges, GTR provides a great online challenge system up to a point. When the toughest challenges in a game boil down to can you keep your car in a skid for 5 minutes you are forced to ask yourself why you would be proud of being the best at driving like a complete moron. This is a challenge I’ve convinced myself that people in Rochester have an ongoing competition for (with the current winner being someone driving around half a mile in reverse on the highway in the middle lane because they missed an exit), but that doesn’t mean I want to enter my name in the running. Believe it or not, not all challenges need to be faced. This lesson is usually learned by the time you inflict massive amounts of damage during a psychotic bicycling or skating stunt or you realize afterwards you really shouldn’t have attempted. With any luck you stopped during the dares to eat certain spoiled foods… something those on Fear Factor never quite figured out.
But I digress. Yes, the game also has the multiplayer race challenges which do provide the exact challenge I’m looking for and I’ve done very well in those, but that challenge is quite old. It is very easy to find challenges in games when you look for them. I really need to ask myself what the happy medium is for me. I’m stuck with no motivation but fear the arms race of achievement points. What do I do?
The most troubling act is that I have locked myself into waiting for Hellgate: London, Spore (which forces me to consider making a one-time exemption to give EA money), and GTA IV. In the meantime I’ve reverted back to playing Sims 2 on the PC and Final Fantasy VI on the GBA. While I will defend those games to the bitter end as 2 of the top 20 all time games I still have games like several games on the bench with unresolved challenges. This includes completing Civilization IV and The Movies on the hardest levels (although I haven’t unlocked everything in The Movies on the lower levels), San Andreas (when the only open mission is gaining favor with a dominatrix to get into a bank vault- the quintessential example of no motivation), Final Fantasy XII (I have no explanation for why I don’t plug this game back in), NBA 2K7 (my franchise hasn’t run long enough to get my player into the Hall of Fame), PGR 3 (I don’t have all of Platinum Medals in the true racing challenges), and Crackdown (collecting all of the orbs can be an infuriating task).
On the plus side every Diablo II challenge was completed several times over, so thankfully there’s no going back to some games. What I have to realize is where that line is for online games much sooner than I already have.
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April 11, 2007
On The Shelf This Week – 04.11.07
ON THE SHELF THIS WEEK
by Craig Reade
DARK HORSE
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BPRD GARDEN OF SOULS #2 (OF 5), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by John Arcudi and Mike Mignola, Art by Guy Davis and Dave Stewart. This mini is billed as being THE Abe Sapien story – so far it seems to be delivering. Arcudi traditionally delivers with these BPRD minis – this one doesn’t look to be any different. As always, a good read for the fans.
DC COMICS
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52 WEEK #49, $2.50, 32 Pages. Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid; Breakdowns by Keith Giffen; Art by various; Backup features by Waid and various. Next week is the killer – 5 issues to buy to get “the complete story” – 52 #50 and 4 issues of World War III. No matter what you think about Countdown (as a continuation or not), having to buy five issues in a single week after patiently buying a full priced book every week is a bit disheartening. Hopefully it is worth it – but the standard is going to be really, really high for DC to accomplish that.
ALL STAR SUPERMAN #7, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Grant Morrison; Art and Cover by Frank Quitely. This book is enjoyable – but really, 2 months isn’t enough time to get an issue out? This book is billed as bimonthly, but it has been over three months since we saw issue #6. Morrison and Quietly are doing a great job quality-wise, but they are losing the interest of some who don’t really like waiting three months between issues. Even when a book is solicited quarterly, people start to lose interest. Look what happened to Secret War, after all.
BATMAN STRIKES #32, $2.25, 32 Pages. Written by Scott Beatty; Art by Christopher Jones and Terry Beatty. The Joker puts together a super-team in this issue to help take out Batman. Hmm – Joker seems too possessive to do something like that – he has such a unique relationship with Batman, it is tough to believe that he would be spearheading an effort like that. His adversarial relationship with Batman is far too personal. But, things like this used to happen, and this is a whole different continuity, so why not.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #11, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Dave Gibbons; Art and Cover by Patrick Gleason and Prentis Rollins . This title is just plain fun – there are no two ways about it. After a complete mini and almost a year solid of ongoing issues, this book still hasn’t lost its flavor. If only every comic were this reliable. Looks like an action-packed issue. Possibly a good issue to try out for the first time.
TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED #7 (OF 8), $3.99, 32 Pages. Written by David Lapham and Brian Azzarello; Art by Eric Battle, Cliff Chiang and Prentis Rollins. Some people still don’t like that Hal Jordan came back, but just about everyone is in agreement that Crispus Allen is far and away a better Spectre. This series got off to a slow start, but is really delivering down the stretch. Maybe hopes of an actual ongoing anthology book aren’t so farfetched after all.
TEEN TITANS #45, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Geoff Johns; Art and Cover by Tony S. Daniel and Jonathan Glapion. This arc has been hyped for some time, and thus far it has really delivered. This issue should feature Ravager and Jericho squaring off some more against dear-old-dad. Man, isn’t it nice to see Deathstroke squaring off against the Titans again? He may well be a strong enough character to hold his own against the JLA, but this really is where he belongs. Johns is doing his usual stellar job.
TRIALS OF SHAZAM #6 (OF 12), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Judd Winick; Art and cover by Howard Porter. Boy, the wait for this issue has been unbearable. Monthly! Comics should be monthly! That really is the only complaint. As sad as it is that it seems like Billy Batson will no longer be Captain Marvel, the way they are handling Freddy stepping up to take the mantle is just too awesome for words. It has an air of “ultimization” about it – if they were to make an Ultimate (or All-Star, as the case may be) Captain Marvel series, the origin might look a lot like this story. Best time in years for the fans of the Big Red Cheese.
WONDER WOMAN #7, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Jodi Picoult; Art by Drew Johnson and Ray Snyder. Unlike Tamora Pierce, Jodi Picoult’s debut as a comic writer fell a little flat last month. She just doesn’t seem to have a handle on the character or the serial format. Thankfully for Wonder Woman fans itching for a great story, she is only on for one arc. After issue #10 – maybe more Allan Heinberg? Will Gail Simone finally be brought aboard to save the day? Something big has to happen, so it isn’t that far out of the realm of possibility. Fingers crossed!
VERTIGO
FABLES #60, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Bill Willingham; Art by Mark Buckingham and Steve Leialoha. A brand new story arc starts this month, and this story looks to focus solely on Flycatcher. Good news – he is such a great character and though having him involved in major events will be hard to watch (you feel so bad for him, he is probably the most “normal” of the Fables), it will be compelling. As always, a new story arc is a great place for those of you who STILL haven’t tried this book to correct that problem.
SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE SLEEP OF REASON #5 (OF 5), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by John Ney Rieber; Art by Eric Nguyen. This series doesn’t look like it is going to end up as bad as things were looking when the first issue came out- in fact, some readers are really enjoying this series finally. Might make a good trade purchase for those who passed on it based on poor reviews for issue #1.
WILDSTORM
GEN 13 #7, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Gail Simone; Art by Alvin Lee. Best part about this issue? Gail Simone working with Alvin Lee again. Granted, at that time, the art on Deadpool and Agent X was more of a collaborative UDON project (at least, according to the credits), but regardless – the team worked well together. This issue is billed as a done-in-one, so it should be a good one to try out if you have been pondering picking this title up.
GRIFTER MIDNIGHTER #2 (OF 6), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Chuck Dixon; Art by Ryan Benjamin and Saleem. If anyone can make the Wildstorm Universe compelling at this point, it is Chuck Dixon. Well, as long as he is writing a story like this one. Gail Simone does a great job with Gen13, but considering the material she has to work with, she can only take things so far. With any luck, this will be a solid action read, the kind we are used to seeing from Chuck Dixon. Hope it delivers for the Wildstorm fans.
IMAGE
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DYNAMO 5 #2, $3.50, 32 Pages. Written by Jay Faerber, Art by Mahmud A. Asrar and Ron Riley. The concept of this series is pretty interesting – 5 illegitimate children of a hero brought together by his widow to fight crime. Only trouble is – laying out that concept was pretty much the entirety of issue #1. Faerber did a decent job of it – and it was an expected part of the story, but the solicits spoiled all that in selling the issue. Guess that is one of the evils with an idea like this one – you have to talk about it to get people to buy the book. It was an entertaining read, but hopefully we get a lot more this issue than what we have already heard about.
MARVEL COMICS
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AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #7, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Tom Defalco, Art by Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema. Spider-Girl has settled back into what made this title really good in the first place – good, old-fashioned webslinging fun. Spider-Man hasn’t been like this in years – even Ultimate Spider-Man lacks the depth that the old Spider-Man supporting cast had, which is what makes this title so good. Glad to see this book didn’t suffer after the relaunch.
BLADE #8, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Marc Guggenheim, Art by Howard Chaykin and Edgar Delgado. Some fans still dig this title, but art problems combined with some strange character developments (Blade missing a hand?) baffle others. I does seem like Guggenheim has elected to go a pretty bizarre direction with this title.
CIVIL WAR TP, $24.99, 192 Pages . Written by Mark Millar, Art by Steve McNiven. Collecting Civil War #1-7. Well, this was Marvel’s Infinite Crisis – sadly it didn’t really end up nearly as good as that. Plagued with a lack of direction (new plot being developed during the art phase of specific issues is never a good sign), this series was ultimately hampered by Marvel’s inability to make the pro-registration side seem anything other than villainous. Who? delivered what you would expect from him – a string of sensational moments (and a bucket-full of C-Listers dying for it), which did give people some hit moments to talk about, but did little to give the story itself much depth. The real gems in the Civil War saga were the tie-ins. Some good writers took some difficult material and turned some good stories around as a result. Might surprise you to hear it (from me), but Peter David particularly deserves a lot of credit for the stories he turned out in the wake of Peter Parker’s unmasking. Unfortunately this trade collects only the event itself, and not the tie ins. With luck, Civil War is the end of the marketing-event era for Marvel, as World War Hulk and the new Annihilation look to be much better.
GHOST RIDER #10, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Daniel Way, Art by Javier Saltares, Mark Texiera, and Dan Brown. Heh – a fragment of Lucifer in Jack O’Lantern. That is kind of amusing. Beyond that – really little else seems to have changed on this book. Same basic premise that has the potential to turn out some ok stories, but it doesn’t leave much flexibility for deeper Ghost Rider stories. Decent if you are a fan, though this series probably won’t turn you into one.
HEROES FOR HIRE VOLUME 1, $13.99, 120 Pages. Written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, Art by Billy Tucci and Francis Portela. This series spun out of Daughters of the Dragon and started up as an ongoing Civil War tie in. Not the best way to lay the foundation of an ongoing, but this series has had more difficult problems to deal with. It is strange to say about a Palmiotti and Gray story, but they just weren’t able to get this series beyond the “Hot babes sexily collecting bounties” angle. Some decent action though – worth looking at if that is all you are looking for.
IRON MAN #16, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Daniel and Charles Knauf, Art by Roberto de la Torre, Jonathan Sibal, and Dean White. Still not totally sold on the idea of Tony Stark as the Director of Shield. The Knauf’s seem to be setting him up for failure there, which could make for an interesting story.
LEGION OF MONSTERS MAN-THING #1, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Chaelie Huston, Art by Klaus Janson. Why haven’t they just made this a Legion of Monsters series, even a mini, and just be done with it? A long-term series of one-shots seems more confusing than it aught to be. This is virtually a horror anthology, all it needs is a little cohesion and it would really work. This issue has a Man-Thing story, and a Zombie (Simon Garth) back-up.
THE LONERS #1 (OF 6), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by C.B. Cebulski, Art by Karl Moline. Kind of an interesting team concept – but most of the people who are buying this issue are just interested in seeing a couple New Warriors and a Slinger in action. For those that don’t know, this team got its start in the newest volume of Runaways as Excelsior, and boasts some familiar (and almost cult-favorite) faces, including Ricochet, Turbo, Darkhawk, and Lightspeed. The whole concept of a team trying to “kick the mask” isn’t going to work for very long, but as long as they eventually work past that, this series should be decent in the long term.
MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #23, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Fred Van Lente, Art by Clay Mann, Terry Pallot, and Lee Loughridge. This issue finds the Fantastic Four going after Rama-Tut, who has kidnapped Alicia to serve as a sculptress for his pyramid. As always, this should be a decent all-ages superhero romp. Also Available:MARVEL ADVENTURES FF VOL 5 ALL 4 ONE 4 FOR ALL, $6.99, 96 Pages. Written by Zeb Wells, Art by Kano. Collects Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #17-20.
NEW AVENGERS #29, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by Leinil Francis Yu and Dave McCaig. This issue continues The Initiative crossover, and once again pits the New Avengers against the Mighty Avengers. It seems like Marvel is pushing forward with their plan to bring an Avengers stable of books to the forefront – for better or worse. This issue is supposed to shed some light on the identity of the latest Ronin, for those who are interested in that.
NEW X-MEN #37, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle, Art by Niko Henrichon, Paco Medina, and Juan Vlasco. This issue is billed as a “prelude” to the upcoming Quest for Magik arc. They are invoking House of M here, so it stands to reason that whoever this Blondfold character is, she has reality-warping powers. With luck this arc will be high on action, which seems to be the modern New X-Men’s only real strength.
NEWUNIVERSAL #5, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Warren Ellis, Art by Salvador Larroca and Jason Keith. Sure seems like the “realistic take on humans gaining super-powers” sub-genre has really taken off of late, and a lot of people might look at this resurrection of the New Universe a tired concept. Where the original New Universe went, followed by Rising Stars, to an extent Supreme Power, and lately Heroes on TV – what more could this offer? Surprisingly this is an outstanding read nonetheless. Ellis has brought something special to the book, and really delivered something that captures the spirit of the original New Universe while at the same time telling a fresh story. Not bad at all.
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #6, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Ariel Olivetti. Matt Fraction certainly has the touch these days, doesn’t he? As a series that started off as a glorified Civil War tie-in, Fraction has certainly made something special out of this. Most impressive. This is a fun action read that should make any Punisher fan happy.
SHE-HULK 2 #17, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Dan Slott, Art by Rick Burchett and Cliff Rathburn. This title has really become something of a mainstay – even at its worst it is good for at the very least a decent fun read. At its best it is compelling and hilarious. We aren’t seeing Slott comics nearly as much as we should anymore. Hopefully he picks up a couple more books soon.
SPIDER-MAN BACK IN BLACK HANDBOOK, $3.99, 48 Pages. By Various. This handbook was something of a surprise, though perhaps it shouldn’t have been. This handbook runs down the whys and hows of the current plotlines affecting Spider-Man, along with character sketches of the involved players, a fact-sheet about the Iron-Spidey suit specs, and a rundown of Spider-Man’s powers. Wonder if they will make reference to those bone-claws…
SPIDER-MAN FANTASTIC FOUR #1 (OF 4), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Jeff Parker, Art by Michael Wieringo. For those looking for the current Fantastic Four teaming with a black-clad Spidey, this is not for you. This tale may be set in the Marvel Adventures Universe, or in a similarly generic setting, because it features the standard versions of both fan favorites. Parker has done an outstanding job with the Marvel Adventures Avengers series – no reason to expect that this mini will be any less interesting.
SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #17, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Sean McKeever, Art by David Hahn and Christina Strain. Introducing Felicia Hardy? Well, this series isn’t exactly in continuity, so it isn’t that far out there to have her attending high school with Peter Parker and company. No doubt this will lead to an eventual encounter between Black Cat and Spider-Man. Wonder if McKeever will get to that before his departure.
THUNDERBOLTS #113, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Warren Ellis, Art by Mike Deodato and Rainier Baredo. This series is something of an enigma. It is well written, and there can be no denying that Ellis is telling a compelling story with these characters. But it isn’t Nicieza’s Thunderbolts. And even moreso, some of the characterizations just seem off – nothing like what we are used to seeing from these characters. Ellis is taking them to a different place, but there is something to be said for the familiar. These sorts of objections will only subside as time passes, and this title becomes the new status quo. Still – Nicieza’s Thunderbolts was really, really good… This issue once again focuses on the Steel Spider.
UNCANNY X-MEN #485, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Ed Brubaker, Art by Billy Tan, Danny Miki, And Frank D’Armata. Oiy – just two more issues to go! Not that Brubaker isn’t doing a decent job on this title, but it has been almost a year since he started. It would be kind of nice to see a different sort of X-Men story out of him? X-Men in Space has never been my favorite setting for the mutants. Still, far better than what we were getting just over a year ago…
WHITE TIGER #5 (OF 6), $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Tamora Pierce, Art by Philippe Briones, Don Hillsman and Chris Sotomayor. Buzz on this title has been really, really quiet. A shame really, because Pierce has done an outstanding job on this title. Not directly familiar with her novels (they are more directed at the teen audience, and she didn’t start publishing until I was well past that age), but she seems to have managed the format transition quite well. Hope to see more of her in the future in comics.
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #13, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Daniel Way, Art by Steve Dillon and Dan Kemp. Still double the Wolvie- double the fun. His “son” is turning out to be everything you might have guessed – pretty much a copy of dear-old Dad. And yet another Wolverine clone is the last thing anyone was really looking for right now. This title might be a fun read for the serious Wolverine fan, but for those looking for a little more depth, this might not be the title for you.
Craig’s Pick of the Week
NOVA #1, $2.99, 32 Pages. Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, Art by Sean Chen, Scott Hanna, and Brian Reber. How many people here picked up any issues of the last Nova ongoing? And how many of you, when it was cancelled, ever thought that a new Nova ongoing would not only eventually begin, but would be greeted with such high expectations? Of all the characters in Annihilation, Richard Rider probably got the biggest boost in stature, and this series is evidence of that. Abnett and Lanning are just the men to handle the script for this book to boot. This is going to be good. I’ve been looking forward to this issue since 1999 – can’t wait.
NOTE: Opinions here may not reflect those of X-World Comics LLC or it’s staff and are solely the opinions of the writer.
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April 2, 2007
The $40 Pull List – April 2007
If this is your first time reading the $40 Pull List, I invite you to see how it works by reading the first edition. Therin you will find all the rules governing the list, and the selection of titles. It isn’t too complicated, though, so just dive right in if you don’t feel like reading back issues! In addition, this column contains Spoilers, so if you are waiting for the trade, read at your own risk!
Three months down, and the list has really coalesced into something solid, Just about every book on it is a keeper now, and we are finally getting to the point where we will be faced with those tough choices that every comic reader on a budget has to face. How do you manage when a new, awesome-looking comic comes out, and you can bear to cancel any of the titles on your list?
The Brave and the Bold #2, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 03/21/07. ON TIME Ug! I am sorry, there isn’t a middle-aged man on this planet that would have to try that hard to resist the cheap flirtations of a 17 year old. At least not one with a shred of integrity, and it stands to reason that a Green Lantern would have at least that much. The whole intro to this issue was terrible. As I feared when hearing that it was Supergirl and not Superman that would be the “partner” for this issue, Supergirl dragged this issue down hard. Just what is DC trying to accomplish here? No one thinks Supergirl needs to be perfect, but one would expect a hero with the S Shield on to be someone that kids could ultimately look up to. Bratty? I can live with that. But is DC honestly ok with saying that it is perfectly ok for 17 year old girls to hit on 40+ year old men? I will admit the “gamblers” version of “It’s a bird, it’s a plane” was seriously clever. It was the first panel that snapped my out of my complete annoyance with Supergirl. The scenes with Batman and the Blue Beetle were very interesting – that is going to be make for a good story next month.
In the end, I have to admit this issue was well written. But Supergirl is a horrible character, no matter who writes her it seems. You know who would have been good in this issue? Stargirl. Or any other young female hero who needs experience, who’s character basis isn’t how sexy she is, and what a spoiled brat she is. It is getting to the point where I would rather read X-23 than this version of Supergirl. Come on – bring back Linda Danvers! This issue squeaks by this month, and this title remains on the pull list based on strong writing and a good story. If Supergirl was going to be a regular fixture in this title though, the book probably wouldn’t have held out this month.
Status: SAFE
—
Silent War #3, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 03/21/07. RELEASED 03/28/07. Just a wee bit late, but another great read. I think that the lack of Quicksilver is what made this series a little less awesome in the first issue. Boy, who knew he could be that compelling of a character? More cameos this month – of note Jaime Madrox made an appearance. Of course, Multiple Man doesn’t suffer from the same character deficiency that Sentry does, so his appearance wasn’t quite as impactful. But it was entertaining nonetheless. It is pretty well a forgone conclusion that this book is safe through its entire run.
Status: SAFE
—
Buffy The Vampire Slayer #1, $2.99, Dark Horse. Due out 03/14/07. ON TIME SOLD OUT. This is one a lot of you might have had a really hard time tracking down. Overwhelming media coverage and fan demand made this issue impossible to find just hours after stores opened on the 14th. Dark Horse thankfully speeded out a second printing which hit the shelves this past Wednesday.
So was it worth all the hype? In a word – no. Now this isn’t saying the book was terrible – but as fast as it sold out, as much as people buzzed and chattered about it, you would think this was the second coming. But it just wasn’t that impressive. It was a decent read, and it did pick up pretty quickly after the end of the season. But that is part of the problem. The whole cast was uber at that point. They fought the First and won, and activated all of the slayers all over the world. For this comic book series to work at all, they are either going to have to have god-like opponents (even MORE powerful than the First), or suffer utter devastation. Since neither was really hinted at in this first issue, we are left wondering exactly where Whedon plans to go with this.
#1 was a decent issue, but it did little more than re-establish a couple of the characters. It was decent enough to give another try next month, though.
Status: SAFE
—
Wyrms #2, $2.99, Marvel/Dabel Brothers. Due out 03/21/07. ON TIME. Still early on, but this has been a pretty faithful adaptation. I am becoming increasingly curious as to how one fairly X-Rated scene in this story is going to be handled down the road. The temptation will be to draw it quite graphically, hopefully they resist that temptation and keep it a little more metaphorical. Hopefully those of you who aren’t familiar with the novel are enjoying this as much as I am.
Status: SAFE
—
Hellblazer #230, $2.99, DC Comics/Vertigo. Due out 03/21/07. ON TIME. Andy Diggle has arrived. And it was a pretty darned good start. It is just a LITTLE bit padded, and if I were to be really critical, I think the flashback structure wasn’t really suited to this story, but those are really technical complaints. I am interested enough to want to keep reading, and that is precisely what you are supposed to accomplish with an issue like this. An interesting start – definitely on board for another issue.
Status: SAFE
—
Noble Causes #28, $3.50, Image Comics. Due out 03/21/07. ON TIME. Still amazed at how much better this title is after a simple artist change. Cinar’s work really did make all the difference in the world. I really like what is being done with Celeste – she has grown so much as a character since this title’s earliest days, and it looks like she is definitely going to factor very heavily in upcoming issues. This title is just plain too good to drop right now.
Status: SAFE
—
Dynamo 5 #1, $3.50, Image Comics. Due out 03/07/07. ON TIME. To be totally honest, if it weren’t for the little twist at the end of this issue, it wouldn’t have a prayer of lasting the month. This issue was really rough – the whole scenario seemed so forced. For some reason, Faerber decided to spend the entire issue setting up what had already been set up in the solicit. A few negatives were exected – the 5 members of the team were bound to be really generic character types. But the story itself was really generic to boot, and until the last couple of pages, there wasn’t really anything of substance. This title was basic fun, and if we already didn’t have a Jay Faerber book pretty solidly safe on the list, it might be worth keeping. But unfortunately, with a limited budget, you have to spread it around a little. Sadly, this one has to go.
Status: DROPPED
—
Spider-man Loves Mary Jane #16, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 03/21/07. ON TIME. Oiy talk about cheese! OK, so this was the “romance issue.” And of course, when your lead characters are high school students, there is all kinds of angst and discomfort to go along with it. And hormones – McKeever did a pretty good job with the banter between Flash and Harry I think. This title isn’t for everyone, but the story is interesting (if a bit soapy) and well-written, and really helps to break up the monotony and seriousness of the list. For another month, this one is safe.
Status: SAFE
—
Sam Noir: Ronin Holiday #2. $2.99, Image Comics. Due out 03/07/07. RELEASED 03/14/07. Sam Noir: Ronin Holiday #3. $2.99, Image Comics. Due out in April. RELEASED 03/28/07. Wow, here was a surprise. After issue #2 was released a week late, issue #3 came out early, just two weeks later. Fortunately we weren’t faced with a budgeting crisis, as we had almost $4 in the bank, and Blade of the Immortal #123 still hasn’t come out. Much like the first issue, the art was a little heavy for the material, but the final two issues of this series were an outstanding read. And the Haiku recap page? Outstanding. They definitely left things open for a third series here – that is definitely one we will be looking for when it arrives.
Status: MINI SERIES – COMPLETE
—
The Helmet of Fate: Zauriel #1, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 03/07/07. ON TIME. The final Helmet of Fate one-shot, and it looks like we got a clean sweep of good reads. The story on this issue was actually a little weak, but the character was great. If anything, this “series” made me long for a good DC anthology book all the more. These minor characters might not be good subjects for books of their own, but having somewhere where a writer can occasionally tell a story that features them – that would go a long way towards keeping these characters alive. An occasional Zauriel back-up story would be a great bonus. The lead up was interesting – looks like it might be time to see what the Doctor Fate ongoing has to offer.
Status: ONE SHOT
—
Jonah Hex #17, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 03/07/07. ON TIME. This one was surprisingly enjoyable. Not that Palmiotti and Grey have ever been a let down on this title, but the idea of a “Jonah Hex-ette” isn’t exactly something that sounds like the best, most creative idea in the world. They made it work though, and now the trouble is – what happens to Tallulah? Are we going to get a mini? Man, once again, the pain at not having decent anthology books is keenly felt! It is probably going to take cancellation or a total creative-team switch for this book to get knocked off the list at this point. Hope you like Westerns.
Status: SAFE
—
LATE OR UNRELEASED PULL LIST ISSUES
All Star Superman #7, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 04/11/07.
Rex Libris #9, $2.95, Slave Labor. Due out in May.
Blade of the Immortal #123, $2.99, Dark Horse.. Due Out 03/14/07 – LATE
As you can see, Blade of the Immortal #123 remains unreleased. The Dark Horse site reports it as released, as do several online sites, but it is nowhere to be found, and all the LCSs in this area report it as late. Issue #124 is due out in 2 weeks, so we are already looking at a back-up for this book. While it would be interesting to see how a late book would play out in this little experiment, I would hate for it to happen right after picking a title up. For now we budget – and wait.
-=APRIL PULL LIST:=-
Titles carrying over:
Silent War #4, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 04/25/07.
The Brave and the Bold #3, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 04/18/07.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer #2, $2.99, Dark Horse. Due out 04/04/07.
Blade of the Immortal #123, $2.99, Dark Horse. Due out 03/14/07 LATE.
Blade of the Immortal #124, $2.99, Dark Horse. Due out 04/11/07.
Wyrms #3, $2.99, Marvel/Dabel Brothers. Due out 04/18/07.
Hellblazer #231, $2.99, DC Comics/Vertigo. Due out 04/18/07.
Noble Causes #29, $3.50, Image Comics. Due out 04/18/07.
Spider-man Loves Mary Jane #17, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/11/07
Jonah Hex #18, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 04/04/07.
All Star Superman #7, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 04/11/07.
New Titles:
Doctor Fate #1, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 04/18/07. The Five Helmet of Fate one-shots were all quite good, so it only makes sense to see what happens next. This is a great time for a new #1 to boot – DC finally stopped releasing several a month, and now the import of a #1 is starting to return. Hope this one is at least as good as the one-shots ended up being.
Nova #1, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 04/11/07. Who didn’t see this one coming a mile away? Annihilation was the surprise event of the year, and the best in recent memory (even beating out the much hailed Infinite Crisis for some readers) – it is entirely likely that Marvel didn’t expect fans to react to it like they did. And the best news? The Human Rocket is finally big-time. Nova ongoings have never traditionally done well – hopefully this one will fare better than at least the last two did. It is already off to a much better start. Should be good to see him wipe the smirk of Tony Stark’s face…
TOTAL: $39.38
Budget = $40.00 + $3.88 (Banked) + $3.22 (LATE books) – $3.22 (Early books) = $43.88
$43.88 (Budget) – $39.38 (New Books) – $3.05 (tax) = $1.45 banked for May
No complaints about the math this month, so I kept it the same. Hopefully it is still easy to follow.
Cutting the budget much tighter this month! For those who are reading this just to see the list evolve and develop, in May we may be faced with an interesting situation. We have no more minis and one-shots on the list, and it is finally stabilized to the point where we aren’t necessarily expecting dropped titles. Assuming Nova and Doctor Fate satisfy, Blade of the Immortal gets caught up, and the rest of the books don’t totally take a quality nose-dive, the list will be under-budget by a mere $2.24. If you will recall, it is required that at least one new title be sampled each and every month. So it is entirely possible that at least one otherwise good book will need to be sacrificed in order to make room.
Should that eventuality come to pass – which book do you think should be dropped from this list, and why?
This month’s contest? How about trivia! Since the hot item of last month was Buffy, how about a Buffy Question!
- In the episode “Hush,” what is the only thing that can defeat “The Gentlemen?”
The first three people to email or PM me with the correct answer will receive one of the titles from the April Pull-List. If you post the correct answer in the thread, however, you will be forever banned from the contest, and Brandon will steal your pants. Be warned!
As always, I have made a list to print out a list to take with you to the store: Here you go! Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view the file – I am sure most of you have that though. If not, you can download the latest version for free at Adobe.com.
Thanks for reading – see you next month!
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