The $40 Pull List – March 2010

Welcome to March!

This cracker is drunk! Try and guess which parts I wrote on the sauce, and which I wrote while sober! Oh. This is the $40 Pull List! I am Brandon Schatz and this dude right here is Craig The Crackerton J. Reade.

Have you been hitting the wine coolers again? Shame on you.

Caesars, my friend. Clamato, vodka, Worcestershire sauce, Tobasco, and horseradish. And I’m now eating the eggs as well! Because that’s just how ah rolllll.

Ugh, damned Canadians can’t even make a Bloody Mary right. Anyway, I will apologize for the slight delay in posting this column… totally my bad. But then, we are wasting time. On to last month’s issues!

February Issues

Jonah Hex #52, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 02/03/10 ON TIME
Written by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti, Art be Jordi Bernet, Colors by Rob Schwager

Hex arrives at a secluded cabin after being shot, looking for shelter and food. Inside is a lone woman with a small child – named Misty Rae (of course, the woman is the blonde-bombshell type who is all alone, and letting strange men into her house). We get a little background on the woman and then -

Oh, a flashback. Joy.

Hex falls into a trap set by a young boy who tried to rob him. Hex is harder to put down than that, though, and his attempt ends up costing him his life. The boy’s family finds the body, and though they realize that the kid probably got what he had coming, they decide they still have to find Hex and get a little vengeance. Hex slips their attempts to track him, and we end up back at the cabin, where the woman now fears Hex has put her baby’s life in danger by having come to her. The hunters find their prey, but all end up losing their lives after a bit of a struggle. Of course, the big reveal at the end is how the woman is related to the robbers – but that was telegraphed pretty early on.

I actually liked this issue quite a bit – this, after being quite down about the last issue. I seem to have quite a love-hate relationship with this book… but to be fair, the only reason why I was a bit warmer to this one was the art by Jordi Bernet. I love him. If any of you have some extra funds kicking around, grab a collection of Torpedo – it’s some old school European crime stuff with a bit of art by Alex Toth and a ton from Bernet. Wait, what am I talking about?

Oh right. Jonah Hex.

Well, to be fair, I think my thoughts on this book can be best explained in the form of a completely necessary flashback to a conversation I had with a co-worker about this book a few weeks ago.

(Shimmery scene transition to comic shop.)

Me: "Ain’t never seen a bombshell with a kid before, have you?"

Me (nodding absently): "Truth."

I can honestly say that none of that made any sense at all. So I will just go with the default by echoing Hex’s own sentiments in this book – despite the hot blonde, Rape did not make an appearance.

And the art has certainly been worse on this title. Bernet seemed to avoid the scarred side of Hex’s face whenever possible I noticed, but he did a fair job on it when he showed it, so I am not sure what was behind that…

Invincible Iron Man #23, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 02/03/10 ON TIME
Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Salvador Larroca, Colors by Frank D’Armata

We get a little back and forth between Tony and Strange in Tony’s "dream-state" about what is happening to him, and how everything around him isn’t exactly real. Pepper and Maria both reveal that Tony slept with them when he was on the run, and the Ghost finds where the group is hiding. That’s about it…

I get the feeling that you’re cooling on this book, Craigerton J. I mean, I can see why, in some ways. Myself, I’m consistently entertained by Fraction’s people and ideas, and so even in slower issue’s like this, I find reason to continue. That said, someone brought up something pretty interesting a weird about this book, and Captain America: Reborn. Now, I know this discussion really has no place on this list because we weren’t reading Reborn – but at the very end of it, Steve Rogers relates his journey through time, and lets slip the fact that he saw the future… one dystopian looking thing that had the very same Cthulhu looking robots Stark has running around in his head, destroying things and such. Me thinks something is afoot…

You are quite possibly correct. That doesn’t make this arc any less boring, however. In fact, the fact that they are looking to tie this into something bigger is perhaps the reason I seem to not be enjoying this book anymore. When it first started, it was outstanding – and it stood alone. I donÕt know what it is with Marvel and DC these days, but the second they try to hammer a book into the big picture they ruin it. I can honestly say that while they havenÕt been terrible, this book has been boring for some time now.

I agree with you in-so-much as the story is slow. You probably would’ve felt differently, had this somewhat necessary aftermath happened over the course of two or three issues rather than five, but it’s all a matter of business winning the battle over art… at least for now. I feel quite confident that after this arc is done, we’re going to move back into a higher gear. You know, if this book manages to survive on the list that long.

Well, one of the stated purposes of this column is not to succumb to marketing over quality. Should we be rewarding this much padded storytelling? I thought the story was going to kick into high gear after the last painfully slow arc. It still hasn’t. If I am honest, I don’t think this title has too many chances left.

DeadpoolTeam-Up #896, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 02/03/10 ON TIME
Written by Stuart Moore, Art by Shawn Crystal, Color by John Rauch

We open with U.S.Ace and Big Dee Pee (Deadpool), both driving big-rigs, presumably delivering something for a client Deadpool runs over a raccoon. The death of their compatriot causes the remaining raccoons to arm up for revenge. Why? Why not.

We get a completely obnoxious flashback (another poster-child of bad non-linear storytelling), where U.S. Ace comes to his brother, The Highwayman, looking for work. His brother gives him a job – 1 million for a coast-to-coast drive, no questions asked. Deadpool literally falls through the ceiling (I assume the aftermath of last month’s issue?) and is tapped to drive the second truck.

The Killer Raccoons catch up with the pair, and after a struggle, Deadpool wrecks his rig. U.S. Ace takes that opportunity to get a look at their cargo – dozens of Hyperspace Combustion Manifolds, technology that would allow him to get back into space. Unfortunately, the Manifolds are destroyed, and we learn that the Highwayman set the entire gig up to collect on the insurance on the shipment, using Raccoons created much the same way that Rocket Raccoon was to get the job done.

Let’s read that again, very carefully. This was a comic that featured not just one, but two super-powered truckers. Also, there were super-powered raccoons and insurance fraud. If the sound of this comic does not appeal to you, then we can no longer be friends. Do you hear me world? Friendship over.

I am quickly starting to like this title, and I am forced to recall how much I enjoyed the last time we had Deadpool Team-up, back at the end of Cable/Deadpool. It was a solid idea then, and it is a great one now. Deadpool has always been awesome when paired up with the most obscure comic figures (early on, the Vamp? The Whizzer? Batric ze Leaper?) Why not U.S. Ace and a bunch of Killer Raccoons? Plus, I really enjoyed the lack of split personality in Deadpool’s inner dialogue. I don’t get where that came from in the ongoing, and I am really happy not to see it here. This book was just plain fun. Even with the totally inappropriate flashback.

Demo Vol. 2 #1, $2.99, DC/Vertigo. Due Out 02/03/10 ON TIME
Written by Brian Wood, art by Becky Cloonan

Demo returns with a… something. The opening story for this series’ return is about a girl who keeps having these vivid dreams about a suicide – though the location and person its affecting is a mystery. Through a random chain of events, she winds up discovering just who and what these visions are about, and finally gets some sleep. Well, the art was pretty. I dunno – there wasn’t much to this story. I guess the ending was supposed to be kind of a surprise, but I saw it coming pretty much from the beginning of the book. Truthfully, though the art was the strongest part of this issue, it might have made a better short story than a comic. I dunno. Okay, so here’s the thing. I really, really, really love Demo, and the first volume was some of the best comics that I’ve ever read. But this issue? I dunno what I think of it. Like Craig, I pretty much called the resolution from the get-go, which really harmed the book’s impact. At the same time, I’m intrigued by the whole "self-fulfilling precognition" thing that happened. But the joy and the pain of Demo is that there are issues that cut you to the quick, and others that are decent, but just don’t hit you in the core – and I think this one is one of the latter.

I would normally agree with you on that point, but it is also safe to say that most people would pick something spectacular to lead a series off with. If Wood thinks this is the best story to lead off with, what are we going to get down the line? I’m willing to keep at it for another month though… it wasn’t terrible, just something of a let-down.

Wolverine: Weapon X #10, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 02/03/10 ON TIME
Written by Jason Aaron, Art by C.P. Smith

Logan wakes up after spending an evening with his new girlfriend, and discusses with her their sexual history. He then visit a bunch of women he was close with, who all ask if she is ready to die, taunt him about having a new girlfriend, and then Logan holds a baby. Then Emma laughs at his girlfriend, and she doesn’t like him. Melita goes to take some martial arts classes, and proves that she can take care of herself if one of Logan’s many enemies come for her by kicking Wolverine in the face a whole bunch of times.

I really had no opinion of this book issue one way or the other… except for I assume Wolverine has a magic ***** that makes women fall for him quite fast. Though, to be fair, he’s fallen for her quite fast too. Anyway, the moral of this story, is she’s totally going to die by the time Aaron is done telling his Wolvie stories. I think.

That, or she is going to somehow turn evil, and he eventually has to kill her. Either way, it is going to be something like that. Overall, I think this issue was much stronger than the start of the last arc. I enjoyed the read, and I even enjoyed the art. Granted, this style would not work on the majority of Wolverine stories I don’t think, so as long as Smith on this book isnÕt a permanent change, I am ok with it here.

He’s on for just this issue – the next arc sees the return of original series artist Ron Garney. Should be neat.

Nova #34, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 02/03/10 ON TIME
Written by San Abnett & Andy lanning, Pencils by Mahmud A. Asrar, Inks by Scott Hanna, Colors by Brung Hang

Old Sphinx and Young Sphinx pair off their champions one at a time, to try and gain the upper hand. First Moonstone is paired off with Nova – I am sorry, The Man Called Nova (I love how DnA remembers all the old stuff). The pair are transported to Harry S. Truman High School (Rich’s old school) to duke it out. Namorita is paired off with Man-Wolf (on Arisen Tyrk in the Other Realm), Reed Richard’s with Bloodstone on Vanaheim, and Basilisk is matched with Black Bolt on Attilan. Black Bolt is stunned to discover his future tombstone in the ruins, and that distraction is enough for Basilisk to turn him to stone, and shatter him. Finally Raptor Gyre and Darkhawk pair off on the Tree of Shadows, and Darkhawk quickly dispatches his enemy. Namorita, Nova, and Reed all achieve victory for Old Sphinx as well. Sphinx learns that he can control Darkhawk, and has hip rip the second Ka Stone from Young Sphinx, and give it to him – making his power limitless.

Oooooooh snap you guys! King Tut is ready to take everyone down! You know, if I’m not careful, I’m just going to degrade into another love-fest for this book, so instead, I‘d like to say something about the whole “Realm of Kings” thing. You guys made a mistake. A huge, and terrible mistake. While an expanded title base is good occasionally, doing it so soon after an event has caused quite a bit of damage to this line of books. Without breathers, we had a lot of people and up falling off all the cosmic books – and each title suffered a little from people culling their pull lists – quantity overpowering their perceived ‘quality.’ Needless to say, I’m a little afraid of the impending Thanos event that the cosmic books will be thrust into soon. Will there be just as many books? Or on the other hand, is this what others have been hinting at: the end of Abnett and Lanning’s run on these cosmic books? I suppose we’ll have to wait and see, either way. (And just in case you were wondering, I still think this book is phenomenal.)

Well, that about sums up my feelings in general about events these days. Agreed on the title – totally loving it. DnA’s been pretty good about protecting Nova from crossover madness to this point – the event might appear on the cover, but the stories are largely self-contained. Hopefully the readers don’t miss that.

Choker #1, $3.99, Image Comics. Due out 02/10/10 RELEASED 02/24/10
Written by Justin Ben McCool, Art by Ben Templesmith

Look at that: an Image book gets added back onto the list, and it is already late first issue out the gate. Big surprise! After a quick page introduction to a young girl named Tabitha being held prisoner in a cage in someone’s basement, we are introduced to the presumed protagonist of this particular series – an angry version of the typical noir PI Johnny Jackson, and his nervous assistant Seaton. After ignoring an important phone call, Johnny makes his way to a local bar, where he gets another call from one Milton Ellis, called Chief, who offers Johnny his old job back. This old job turns out to be a member of the police force. In exchange for his badge, Jackson must track the escaped Hunt Cassidy, an offer he accepts wholeheartedly.

A note about the issue’s lateness from your friendly neighborhood retailer: the first run of the comic had to be pulped when it was discovered that the printer used the wrong mix of water in the printing process, making the pages wavy as crap. Now, Diamond ended up sending a few of these copies out on the intended day of release (a well oiled machine, that company is) and so I did manage to see what kind of damage we were dealing with right off the bat… and it looked absolutely terrible. Kudos to the spiffy reprint, and turning it over in just a short two week period. That out of the way, to the comic! I enjoyed this quite a bit. Appropriately dark with all the hallmarks of the crazy Ben Templesmith always seems to hitch his wagon to, it felt quite nice to read about this world and this character – and I was left wanting more. So there’s that.

Funny how there is always an excuse for these late issues, isn’t it? Sorry B, that doesn’t excuse it. With Image, there is always something. Why are they using a printer with such a terrible QC process? Why are you giving props for taking – 2 weeks longer to print something properly when any printer worth their salt could turn around much faster.

Not to harp on it, but I do look forward to seeing what next month’s excuse is.

The comic itself wasn’t terrible. The character and plot were totally cliched, but I will give McCool credit for his atmosphere. Many writers feel the need to do a massive exposition dump at the beginning of a fantasy story to explain the rules of the universe. McCool did it differently here – and using a method I always enjoy. He just described the world as it was to the characters in it. The differences between that world and this one didn’t mean a thing to the characters – and as such, they didn’t warrant any special mention. You encounter them as the characters do – and I enjoy that. You didn’t get a huge explanation of all the different kinds of mutants and freaks in the world. So yeah, annoyed at the tardiness, underwhelmed by the concept, but impressed with the execution.

The things that get stuck in your craw perplex me sometimes, Craig. Or at least, how you chose to focus your blame radar. In the comic industry, standard wait for a re-print is three weeks. And that’s not just due to the printers – it’s due to the system the comic industry is hitched to. Image gets their comics the same day Diamond does. They tell Diamond to not send out the crappy comics (which they do anyway – got my crappy copy right here) and tell the printer that this will not stand. The printer then re-prints the issue and sends them to Diamond – but Diamond takes their sweet, sweet time to get them to the printer. Yes, it’s an issue that ends up being Image’s fault, but calling them out on a turn around time that Marvel and DC don’t even match is shenanigans.

See, there is an enormous difference between a title selling out and going back to press, and a printer hosing a job and having to do it over. The standard wait for a re-print applies to the publisher ordering more, and not the printer jacking up the job and having to run it again. No one is saying that Image should be able to instantly turn around an order, but speaking as someone with a great deal of exposure to the production end of things, there is no way that a printer is going to screw up that badly, and stick it to a major customer like Image (they may not be big two, but in the spectrum of comic publishers, they are major) by making them wait several more weeks to fix their mistake. It just doesn’t work that way.

I am sorry, I find it impossible to believe that Image is the only one that has these mysterious printing problems where the printer not only fails to QC their product during production (a standard practice in the publishing industry, but also fails to even look at the product prior to shipping it to the customer. Sorry, with Image’s extensive track record (and use of this excuse), I am more apt to believe that they had some cruddy review copies made up at the last minute and sent them out to sate the ire of the consumer.

Yeah, I have a short fuse with Image, but they have more than earned it. When you watch your neighbors dog crap on your lawn every morning for 3 years, you aren’t going to believe him when he claims this time it was your other neighbor’s dog even if he is telling the truth.

Anyway, we will see. And Ill bet you a crisp greenback to a loony that issue #2 is late as well.

Done, sir. To be fair, I’m pretty sure we’re both right about parts, but are also feeling around in the dark just a little bit. I know that Image usually puts a lot of the printing and scheduling on their creator’s back, so this could all just be something tied to their policies. Either way, things happened, and stuff didn’t ship proper. But sir, I will take your bet.

Spider-Man & The Secret Wars #3, $2.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 02/10/10 ON TIME
Written by Paul Tobin, Pencils by Patrick Scherberger, Inks by Terry Pallot, Colors by Brad Anderson

In this issue, we get a little slice of the assault on Galactus that occurred in Secret Wars #5, but from Spider-ManÕs perspective. A recap is a little difficult, as the entire issue depicts GalactusÕ reality warping defense to the combined attack of the heroes and villains. Again, not something really seen in Secret Wars itself – in fact, Spider-Man hardly appears in that issue at all.

You know, I like the way this series rolls, but I just can’t wrap my mind around the why. I mean, I get why Marvel put out an all ages Black Widow mini series, and I get why they put out an all ages Armor Wars series. But this really seems to be coming out of left field. Heck, you know what I found out when I was looking for an affordable way to read Secret Wars? The trade paperback is out of print. The only available copy of it to order is the mega big $100 Omnibus. Which I’m not doing.

Not that the impending Secret Wars review runaround isn’t going to happen – I work in a comic shop and have access to single issues – but you’d think at the very least, Marvel would have a collection or something or anything…

Green Lantern Corps #45, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 02/17/10 ON TIME
Written by Peter J. Tomasi, Pencils by Patrick Gleason, Inks by Rebecca Buckman, Tom Nguyen, and Keith Champagne, Colors by Randy Mayor

The Green Lanterns confront a conflicted Guy Gardner on Mogo, his rings struggling for dominance. Finally, the Red Ring wins out and he attacks the gathered Lanterns. They struggle to contain his rampage, until Kyle calls on Mogo for help. Mogo brings to life the conflicting sides of his past (represented with red and green constructs). Together they manage to restrain Guy, but find that the only way to get rid of the Red Ring is to either kill Guy, or find a Blue Lantern to cleanse his soul. Mogo finds a way to do the same, and filters his blood of Reds grip, sending the Red Ring off to find a new host. Summoned back to Oa, several Indigo Lanterns are assembled, prepared to transport as many Lanterns as possible to Earth to have the final confrontation with Nekron.

From all indications, it appears as though this was a wise choice – following just this book, rather than the monstrosity that is the 17-part-plus-extras that is Geoff Johns’s version of this very tale. While the story has taken a few weird detours to fill nine whole months, most of these detours have been very, very entertaining. Add to that the feeling of genuine danger, and you have yourself a winner. I mean seriously, do we believe for one moment that Hal, Barry, Superman, Green Arrow, or Wonder Woman are going to be all that affected by this in the long run? Not entirely. But here? Here the potential for change is palpable.

Without question – that’s another reason I found Blackest Night’s focus on the other JLAers so distasteful. Who cares about them with this story? This began a Green Lantern story, and it is certainly going to end one. The thing that made Rebirth and Sinestro Corps War so entertaining was its focus – and Johns completely spoiled that when he branched this story out beyond the intimate Green Lantern mythos. Of course there are those that defend this event, those that think Johns can do no wrong at DC. There is no denying that he is a great comic writer. But every now and again, he lets his own hype get in the way of a good story. This is one of those cases. Thank goodness Tomasi was available to pick up the ball here, to salvage something positive out of this train wreck of an event.

Power Girl #9, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 02/17/10 ON TIME
Written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, Pencils by Amanda Conner, Colors by Paul Mounts

Power Girl’s shower is interrupted by the arrival of her blackmailer sliding an envelope under the door. She races after him (forgetting her clothes, of course – soon remedied), and discovers that he was just a delivery boy and knew nothing about who put him up for the job, other than a vague description sounding almost like the Joker. Back at the office, Karen Starr is summoned to the bank to deal with a payroll issue, only to find it being held up by laser-wielding pachyderm. Power Girl arrives on the scene, only to find that the attack was only to draw her out. Manhawks arrive on the scene to supplement the attack, all presumably organized by Satanna, a former flame of the Ultra-Humanite. Power Girl and Satanna trade blows, and as Satanna places something on Power Girl’s chest that promises to basically crush her body much like a mini-black hole, Terra arrives to save the day. We are left with Terra victorious, but Power Girl still down for the count, the machine still working to destroy her.

We’ve said a lot about how much we enjoy this book (although I sometimes waffle between love and like somewhat arbitrarily), so let’s hit something a bit different. I like how this book is structured. Each storyline is given two issues to play out, and plays out in both huge, earth shattering ways, and more quiet, stoic ways. Meanwhile, the overall story continues apace, without missing a beat. Honestly, this is how comics should be made.

I definitely can’t argue. I ‘d be really easy to become too focused on the cheese ball that you find in every issue (naked Power Girl here being the example), but even if they are always gratuitous, they always have a point. And they are always backed by what turns out to be a pretty solid story. P&G (PG? I dunno, they need a cutesy moniker like DnA) are demonstrating a very strong mastery of the ongoing serial story – there is the long-term elements that span much shorter, self-contained stories. Each issue gives you something for your money, has more story packed in than any issue by one of the masters of the “decompressed story,” and gives you a reason to want to pick up the next issue. This series is nothing like I hoped it would be, but it is every bit as good all the same.

Of course, the last time I felt this way about a title was Kyle Baker on Plastic Man, and that run was tragically short, and ended with me losing all respect for him as a creator. Hopefully that isn’t a sign of things to come.

Captain America #603, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 02/17/10 ON TIME
Written by Ed Brubaker & Sean McKeever, Pencils by Luke Ross & David Baldeon, Inks by Butch Guice & N. Bowling, Colors by Dean White & Chris Sotomayor

Things kick off with Crewcut Cap talking about how his America is different than the America today, and then the Wolfpack group that he’s hanging out with tells him all about how Bucky is trying to downplay his prowess and junk at doing stuff. Meanwhile, the Falcon cups Bucky’s breasts as they sour through the air, their souls souring just a high as their bodies. Unfortunately, this quickly degrades into a fight that the boys win quite handily. Eventually though, things get hinky when evil Cap’s plan starts to take form, and Falcon and Bucky find themselves at the mercy of their enemies. Elsewhere, in the Reason We Picked Up This Book, Nomad and Arana attempt to deal with the crazy robots what they were attacked with in the last issue – and they end up failing in their main goal of getting some info out of Maddog. All this leads to a general sense of ennui, what with Rickki Barnes being homeless, foodless and directionless, but hey! Things start looking up when Arana shows back up bearing some information! Or does she?

I didn’t really dig this issue. It certainly wasn’t as offensive in the lead story as it was last month, but it also didn’t really stand out in any positive ways either. The back-up story? Hate to say it, but it’s a bore. It has none of the great things from the Nomad series that made it great. And McKeever can’t seem to write Arana – she isn’t supposed to be a naive and peppy young hero trying to do her best! This was a pretty poor story to start the run with, I have to say.

I almost agree with you. Almost. Both stories were a little vanilla, but I found that both had redeeming qualities. For the Cap story, it was a fairly arbitrary thing that I enjoyed: and that was Bucky-Cap finding joy in his role as he was dropped down to attack them boys what are causing all that trouble. I like it when superheroes actually enjoy their job. And with the Nomad back-up, I really enjoyed the quiet moment in the middle where Ricki considered her place (or lack thereof) in this world. The Arana thing, I can’t speak to, because I was generally against the character, what with Marvel’s plan to supplant the Spider-Girl title with the character (back when I still enjoyed Spider-Girl), so I’ve never really read anything with her in it. But, I actually have my sneaking suspicions as to where this story is going to go (obviously, the day is going to be won, and I really doubt McKeever would completely throw Arana under the bus in the end) and suspect that we’ll soon be seeing Nomad elsewhere in some Marvel books coming up soon.

Well, that would be good news indeed.

Avnegers: The Initiative #33, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 02/25/10 ON TIME
Written by Christos Gage, Art by Jorge Molina and Victor Olazaba Color by Edgar Delgado

Continuing his quest for importance, Skeletor is verbally slapped by Osborn. It stings a bit, and so he returns to Castle Greyskull where he entrenches himself once more, and realizes that his part in this grand scheme is keeping Osborn focused on not making this whole war into a giant quagmire. Which… let’s face it, will not happen. Meanwhile, Snake-fists and the lady what banged Captain America continue their lover’s quarrel, which will totally end with them both realizing they were made to be (you and me) right before the other dies. So that will be fun. And yeah, Penance looks like he might be rad soon enough, and Nighttrasher needs to decide if killing Tigra is worth getting his brother back.

See, in this case, I am really not sold on a death here… I actually do think Constrictor and Diamondback are going to make it through this in one piece. I do keep thinking that Taskmaster is trending full-blown evil (big leagues), but things just aren’t going quite right for that angle to feel right. Anyway – there is a ton going on in this book, and it is still awesome. So I’m just going to stop guessing and instead enjoy the ride.

The List So Far

Jonah Hex #53, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 03/03/10
Invincible Iron Man #24, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 03/03/10
Deadpool Team-Up #895, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 03/03/10
Demo #2 (of 6), $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 03/03/10
Wolverine: Weapon X #11, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 03/03/10
Green Lantern Corps #46, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 03/10/10
Nova #35, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 03/17/10
Choker #2, $3.99, Image Comics. Due out 03/17/10
Spider-Man & The Secret Wars #4, $2.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 03/17/10
Power Girl #10, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 03/24/10
Captain America #604, $3.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 03/24/10
Avengers: The Initiative #34, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 03/24/10

Well, here is where the fun begins. In order to meet our budget and pick up a new title, we need to slash two books. Any thoughts?

Hurm. Well, I’m pretty much loving all of these books right now. If I was going to protect one for the next month, it would be Demo. And if I had to suggest a book to get things to get rid of, I get the feeling you’re not vibing Invincible Iron Man…

While this is true, in thinking about it, I realize that the next arc should be somewhat better, since the movie is coming out and all, and its focus is going to be a little more broad. This title first came out when the first Iron Man movie had hit, and it did the impossible by making me interested in Tony Stark. I am honestly inclined to give it another chance.

There are a few ways we can go about this. On the one hand, Spider-Man and the Secret Wars only has one issue left, and to this point, it really isn’t too exciting. I’d much rather have you just read Secret Wars, and give this stuff a pass.

DROPPED

Spider-Man & The Secret Wars #4, $2.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 03/17/10

Beyond that, it’s a toss up to me between Invincible Iron Man, Choker, and Captain America. What do you think?

To be sure, I’d probably be up for cutting…

(choke) Captain America.

Of the three. Do you see what you made me do Craig. DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU MADE ME DO??!

DROPPED

Captain America #604, $3.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 03/24/10

The taste of your pain is delicious, my friend. Yeah, its a shame to lose this one, but if the Nomad back-up was as outstanding as the last mini, I’d be fighting tooth and nail to save it. Kinda telling…
New Titles

This is one of those books that I get really excited about when I first hear about it – then I force myself to wait until I know who the creative team is before I get excited all over again. Thankfully, its passing all the tests so far. How do you feel about

Cloak and Dagger #1, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 03/31/10

I feel neither here nor there. But really, there’s nothing else that’s really grabbing me this month. Sooo…

March List

Jonah Hex #53, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 03/03/10
Invincible Iron Man #24, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 03/03/10
Deadpool Team-Up #895, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 03/03/10
Demo #2 (of 6), $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 03/03/10
Wolverine: Weapon X #11, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 03/03/10
Green Lantern Corps #46, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 03/10/10
Nova #35, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 03/17/10
Choker #2, $3.99, Image Comics. Due out 03/17/10
Power Girl #10, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 03/24/10
Avengers: The Initiative #34, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 03/24/10
Cloak and Dagger #1, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 03/31/10

The Math

$.09 (Bank from February) + $40 (March Budget) = $40.09

$40.09 – $35.89 (March issues) – $2.78 (tax) = $1.42 Banked for April
That’s all folks – see you next month!