Daken must deal with the aftermath of his defeat at the hands of his father.

Writer: Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu
Art: Mierco Pierfederici
Letters: Cory Petit
Editor: Jeanine Schaefer
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Daken roams the streets of Rome, struggling internally after his loss to his father. A pair of attempted robberies lead to further introspection.

I wish I could write a bit more about the plot of this issue, but that’s really about it. I can’t really say it was padding either, but the issue definitely seemed to be missing a few things, and was definitely a filler issue, waiting for the upcoming crossover with Franken-Castle.
This isn’t to say that the idea that Daken might have some personal demons to deal with internally after what happened with Logan – in fact, that made me look on this issue with a considerable level of forgiveness. Daken’s defeat and losing his Muramasa claws are certainly worthy of a period of self-doubt and frustration, and that seemed to play out in this issue.
But the robbery attempts were so disjointed, and there were so many things wrong with them that they make you question the legitimacy of the story. I found myself asking questions I realized would never be answered thanks to the upcoming crossover – which made me realize that the questions were little more than gaping holes in the story. Who put the young girl up to rob Daken?Why would a young girl target a man who looks like a criminal element himself – and an especially dangerous one? Would there really be a scam artist that directly targeted homosexuals in that manner? Wouldn’t it be far easy and far more profitable to target straight men with a beautiful woman as bait? And if so, would they really target someone who looks as hardened as Daken? Wouldn’t they go for the more… effeminate types? Someone a little more visibly vulnerable?

The bulk of the issue dealt with the second robbery attempt – and that entire set-up seemed like a very forced way of having the issue center on Daken’s sexual ambiguity. There is nothing wrong with that, if there is a character development point to be made, but with such a weak justification, it felt as if Way and Liu literally had no story ideas for this issue, and instead decided to pad an issue with “he’ll kiss guys.” Seemed kind of shallow.

The art really saved this issue. Pierfederici makes great use of lighting, and really sells a weak story far better than it deserves. It was a little dark at some points – but for the story it worked. If anything, this issue is an outstanding showcase of his work.

This is probably an issue to skip if you are looking to try the book out for the first time – far better to wait until the crossover begins. For longtime readers, this is a definite filler issue, and not an especially good one. Passable – but they could have done a little better. But then, most comic writers don’t seem to be able to tell a good single issue story these days…

STORY:

ART:

OVERALL:

June already? This month flew by…

That may because you’re getting older, Craig. I hear that happens the closer you get to the grave.

And on that note, welcome to the $40 Pull List! My name is Brandon Schatz    , and this young buck is Craig, the Crackerton J. Reade!

True fact – ‘Cracker’ is a Scottish term that refers to a person who talks, or boasts. In fact, the word “craic” still means a chat.

What this has to do with comics, I have no loving idea.

In Ireland, a “craic” is a funny story. Or something. I should ask my sister how that went again. Buuuuut anyway…

May Issues

Demo #4 (of 6), $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 05/05/10 ON TIME
Written Brian Wood, Art by Becky Cloonan

The book opens with Colin, sweating his junk off in a car. He gets all too uncomfortable about being stuck in traffic, and so gets out of his car, grabs some supplies, and plunges into the murky deep. Immediately, the book flashes back to when Colin was young, and being chased by some punk kids. Stuff goes down, and Colin is left to die in a river. Only Colin has discovered that he can breathe under water. Sort of. See, the thing is, it doesn’t work all the time – just under certain conditions. Eventually, the guy learns to love it underwater. Which brings us to now – living up in the air is for the birds, he decides, and he’s heading off into the water to live his life.

A decent issue – if a little bizarre. But then, I get the feeling Demo’s usually supposed to be like that.

Most of it, yeah. Basically, its a touch of reality, but reality that’s… over there.

Well, this one wasn’t quite as good as the last issue, but way better than the first two. So I still think we’ve had some progress. The series might have been worth reading after all.

iZombie #1, $1.00, DC Comics. Due Out 05/05/10 ON TIME
Written Chris Roberson, Art by Michael Allred, Colors by Todd Klein

The story starts at a funeral – the mourning family burying their dead, and in the distance – a quartet of apparent gravediggers waiting in the wings. The one girl in the crew, named Gwen, seems to get along well with her coworkers, but after declining to go out drinking with the boys, she sneaks back to the graveyard, and into a crypt where she finds her friend Elle, who has been dead for 4 decades and apparently a ghost.

Meanwhile, a pair of friends are playing paintball in the woods (at night), and run into a beautiful but hungry vampire.

Ellie and Gwen head to a diner to meet their friend “Spot,” a were-terrier or something like that.

After some random character encounters, Gwen goes home for the night, but not without stopping for a snack at the office. Mainly – some brains. Because she’s a zombie. Totally didn’t see that coming. (totally, for real).

Anyway, after she eats the guy’s brains, some of his memories leak, and as it turns out, he was murdered, and his soul is screaming for vengeance. To quiet his voice. Gwen decides to help him out. To be continued.

Craig, I’m getting the distinct feeling that you did not like this book. If that is the case, you and I can no longer be friends. While I don’t think they treated the ending properly – building the reveal of her zombie-ness as a twist, and not a mention – didn’t quite sit right with me, but the rest of it was a joy. The characters all have distinct voices, the main thrust of the plot is brought to the forefront, and we’re given some background happenings to take us through future issues. Plus, Mike Allred art. I mean seriously dude.

I don’t know if I disliked it as much as I was thoroughly underwhelmed by it. The story was boring, the “twist” about her being a zombie was plastered on the cover, the characters were different – sure – but they were shallow…

And the art. Well, it wasn’t horrible, but I wasn’t wowed by it. The “storytelling” aspect of his art was certainly lacking…

Clearly, you’re wrong about a lot of things here. And by a lot, I mean the art. The characters were shallow, but I still managed to care about them… or at the very least, I found them interesting enough to continue with.

If you say so. The characters seemed very generic to me, but meh – you like weird stuff sometimes. I don’t always have to bring up the Gilmore Girls, do I?

Psh. Only if you want to prove the point that you have no taste…

Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine #1 (of 6), $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/05/10 ON TIME
Written Jason Aaron, Pencils by Adam Kubert, Colors by Justin Ponsor, Inks by Mark Morales and Dexter Vines

The scene begins with an a castaway Peter Parker, staring into the sky with a telescope he borrowed from the Professor from Gilligan’s Island (a joke that was way more clever before I read Parker make the same comparison a page later). He sees something that makes him realize he will be dead within the day.

Outside the cave he calls home, Parker has been carving a woman’s face – a face he’s seen in his dreams repeatedly, but one he doesn’t know the identity of.

Parker runs, into The Valley of Fire, to tell Wolverine what he has seen. Logan is busy repelling an invasion from some large primitive known as the “Kill Folk,” – it appears that Wolverine and Logan have travelled back in time, to right before the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs hit. And it’s on its way. Both Peter and Logan spend a few pages moaning to themselves about who they got stuck in the past with, and then we fast-forward to the present, to see how they went back in time.

An aside? Normally I bash the non-linear gimmicks, complaining about their overuse in comics. But as I have always said – there is a time and a place for the tactic. This, folks, is an appropriate use of the literary device. Consider yourself commended Mr. Aaron.

Anyway, back in the present (past), Spider-Man and Wolverine bump into each other as The Orb is stealing some diamonds from a bank. The diamonds are dropped, and their glow is a hint that they are out of the ordinary. With a flash, the pair end up millions of years in the past.

The pair deal with their impending death in their own way – Peter by desperately trying to solve the problem, and Logan raging. The asteroid hits – but the pair do not die. Instead, they are sent into the future, where it appears that they managed to somehow change history.

Craig, I think you’re skipping over the most important part here: right at the very end, there is a robot Devil Dinosaur, and that’s just amazing. Who knew changing the past could be so awesome?

We don’t have giant, robot devil dinosaurs?

Well, not actual Devil Dinosaurs, created by Jack Kirby. Anyway, I loved the ever loving crap out of this book. Lots of fun, and it even included the All New Orb! Who I loved in Aaron’s Ghost Rider run.

Hrm, I could have sworn…

Anyway, the issue was on the plus side of decent. Normally I complain about issues with padding – this one could have done with a little more. I wanted more of Logan/Peter in prehistory. I like how it started, and how it developed, but there was a lot more story there. Seems like it was rushed.

Solid start. I’m curious to see where it goes next.

Spectacular Spider-Girl #1 (of 4), $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/05/10 ON TIME
Written Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, Art by Sal Buscema

In the future MC2 Universe, we find Frank Castle in South America in a self imposed retirement. He gets news of the return of Silverback, an enemy he left only crippled, and decides he needs to go back and finish the job.

Meanwhile, one of Silverback’s men, Wild Card, has come up with a device that turns Mayday’s spider-sense against her, and has used it to defeat her. Silverback’s plan is to supplant the current Kingpin of Crime, the Black Tarantula. Mayday calls in a few favors to get some dirt on Wild Card, and her clone/cousin, April, decides that it’s time to make an impact of her own.

A fire breaks out, and Spider-Girl arrives to help rescue some people, and in the aftermath learns that the gang war Silverback is waging has attracted the attention of the Punisher.

I tried for the life of me to get this comic to keep my attention, but nothing was happening. I mean, I caught it all? But Tom DeFalco’s magic on this book died shortly after issue #50 for me.

I really wish I could disagree. This is such a great character and a great concept, but its time for her to grow – DeFalco’s run out of ideas. The American Dream back-up wasn’t bad, but that character is slightly fresher.

And yeah, I enjoyed the American Dream back-up. THe original intent with this series was to put in a back-up featuring another MC2 character in each issue, which had me excited, but the fact that they’re only letting this run for four issues means we get the Buzz in the next issue, and then nothing else, really. Boourns.

Boo-urns indeed. The Buzz is lame. What about J2? A little Bluestreak? Hell, Darkdevil would be good too.

I love MC2, I really do. But Marvel and DeFalco need to give someone else a swing at it.

Okay first off, shut up, the Buzz is awesome, and I love him. And second, yeah, I agree, but what can you do, other than get really famous and pitch them a story?

Whine and complain a lot.

This is a truth fact.

Birds of Prey #1, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 05/12/10 ON TIME
Written Gail Simone, Art by Ed Benes, Colors by Nei Ruffino

The scene opens with Black Canary deep in frozen Iceland, on her way to rescue a young girl named Katy who is being held hostage. With a little help from Zinda, Black Canary manages to turn the tables on the kidnapper and rescue Katy.

In the aftermath, Canary and Zinda catch up on old times, when a surprising call from Oracle comes in, with an offer to “get the band back together.” It seems that some unknown individual has compiled detailed files on several superhumans, including each of the Birds, the Riddler, and Power Girl, and has threatened to kill one of them an hour until they are stopped.

The big reveal happens quickly, as the killer strikes The Penguin – Shiva has returned, more dangerous than ever.

Dude, that was Shiva? I thought they thought it wasn’t her. Either way, I like the idea of the villain.

Well, it seems clear that they were trying to make the point that she got better – last time she and Canary tangled, she got beat. She looks like she vanished for a while to improve her game. A nice twist on her character – she really embraced the White Canary thing since she got beat

Hurm. I got the sense that they were talking about someone else, as they were saying that Shiva never fought like that. But, that makes a lot of sense. Either way, a pretty good start, and Gail Simone didn’t seem to do so bad rolling with what I’m going to go ahead and assume are some corporately mandated character inclusions.

I am on the fence. While this was a far cry from the pits of Wonder Woman suckage, and definitely keeping in mind that sometimes Simone took an issue or two to get going last time she was on this book, a couple of the scenes seemed a little rocky. The reunion being one of them. Clearly there was supposed to be all of this emotion bubbling under the surface, but it seemed like she stumbled on that a bit. To be fair – Benes could share some of the blame for that as well.

So, a rocky, but passable start. I think its excusable. Now that the annoying “how did they get back together” part is over, we can go back and pretend Simone never left.

Neither Simone or Benes really bothered me in this issue. Which is odd, because I don’t really care for Benes. But it hit what I want for these characters, and thought the reunion was handled quite well – I mean, I felt the emotion there, even if it wasn’t quite “shown” properly. But, that could just be because I’m more in touch with my feminine side.

Which is just a way of saying you are girly.

Damn rights. I see no shame in that. Vaginas are awesome.

Only when they are attached to someone else.

Says you.

Ooookay then….

Booster Gold #32, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 05/12/10 ON TIME
Written Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis, Pencils by Chris Batista, Colors by Hi-Fi, Inks by Rich Perrotta

The scene starts with Booster Gold, smack in the middle of a future cosmic war, sent by Rip Hunter to retrieve some kind of artifact. Daxam’s been invaded by Darkseid, and he’s turning the population into slaves. Booster leads a group of aliens to safety, to ride out the attack and plan for what to do next. He leads them into a prison, where they think they will be safe, but one inmate didn’t escape during the attack named Emerald Empress, who kills one of the aliens and realizes she finds Booster attractive, and her flirtations seem to have calmed her killing rage.

That all changes when Rani, a young girl in the party, interrupts the Empress, and lights her killing rage once again. Booster defends her, and leads her Eye on a chase. Destroying it, and thinking the Empress now helpless, he returns to find that she has still killed all of the aliens, save for Rani. Booster and Rani return from the future with the artifact in tow – the Helmet of Fate, which Booster successfully retrieved before Darkseid could claim it.

In the end, a revelation – Maxwell Lord lives.

(Also – that has to be the cleverest “credits” I’ve seen in a comic in some time. )

Man, I really liked this book. There was some harsh things that happened, but Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis are great at balancing the serious stuff with alla their talky jokes and whatnot. Plus, seriously? This book was a wall of text, and I absolutely loved it. I love it when it actually takes me some time to read a comic book.

Describing it as a wall of text might be a disservice. There was a ton to read – I noticed that too – but it wasn’t intimidating. It took a decent amount of time to read this issue, and the art didn’t suffer as a result.

I also have to concur on the balance – but these two have always been good about mixing humor and despair. This issue hit in every way that counts.

Also – oddly enough – it was the second issue this month that featured “creepy eye villains.” Part of me wondered if it had anything to do with it being the sixth anniversary of Mickey Eye (Seaguy #1 first released May 19th, 2004), but I figured that was likely a stretch. I hope it’s a stretch anyway – the fact that anything reminds me of that abortion of a series is a bad sign…

Why’d you have to go and bring Seaguy into this, and remind me how wrong you can be about things? I love Seaguy, and can’t wait for it to conclude with the next mini. Oh, but as for this book? It’s off to a great re-start.

Ha – I wouldn’t even use copies of Seaguy to line my litter box. Thankfully, the level of extortion he had to go through to get the second volume printed means that the third waste of ink likely won’t ever see the stands.

But this book? Awesome so far. Looking forward to #33.

Galacta: Daughter of Galactus #1, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/17/10 ON TIME
Written Adam Warren, Art by Hector Sevilla Lujan

Okay, so seriously, this book? Is crazy. So. There’s this daughter of Galactus, and she’s got this twitter account where she goes on and on about stuff, like how she’s always hungry and junk? But instead of eating people like they’re tasty, she limits herself to alien lifeforms and diseases that are attacking humans. It doesn’t really feed her, because she’s got a cosmic tapeworm in her stomach which is all kinds of lamesauce, and her dad is all, “I’m a cosmic entity, I got no time for your business.” The jerk. But yeah, so she’s going around, and she sees Wolverine, and she’s going “heck yeah, Canadians are hot!” and then imagines how simple life would be if Wolverine mixed his junk up with Ego, but that doesn’t work out. So then she also talks a bunch and then talks with the FF and then her dad comes and says she’s preggers, what whaaaaaat???

I really liked this book. Like a ton. At first, I was just expecting some random teeny bopper chick as “Galactus’s Daughter.” I honestly didn’t expect her to be just like Daddy- her justifications for doing good were so unique, and the Twitter thing was well integrated. I liked how her Followers spiked after she hinted about who her Dad was.

And the art was awesome in so many ways. Especially the jaw-dropping scenes.

The first bit of this appeared in a weird two issue Marvel Assistant Editor’s Special put out some time last year, so I knew what I was getting into – and I knew you were either going to really, really love it, or absolutely hate it. I’m really glad that you like it though. All of Adam Warren’s stuff is like this – just absolutely insane and stuff with neat ideas… and NOBODY READS HIS BOOKS.

This is a concept we need to see again. Well, they can forget about the pregnancy thing for a while – but hell, you can easily fit this into the canon, what with Galactus having spent time as a normal human. Even if you totally ignore how she came to be, the concept is too brilliant to let die.

Come on Marvel. Make this happen.

Put Adam Warren on a book – any Marvel book – and I guarantee we’ll see her again eventually. But other than that, I’ll be surprised…

DC Universe Legacies #1 , $3.99, DC Comics. Due Out 05/17/10 ON TIME
Written by Len Wein, Art by Scot Kolins, Andy Kubert, and Joe Kubert, Colors by Mike Atiyeh and Brad Anderson

This issue treats you to a pair of short stories.

The first is told from the perspective of an old man, reflecting on his youth in the “Golden Age,” when crime was rampant, and he (Paulie) with his friend Jimmy found themselves involved with various gangs. Chance encounters with the Crimson Avengers, The Atom, and The Sandman turned Paulie on the straight and narrow, and gave him a fascination with ‘masks’ for the rest of his life.

The second follows a reporter named Scott “Scoop” Scanlon, who is sent with his photographer Rusty James to investigate Seaview Manor for a story. It would seem an encounter between Doctor Fate and a demon had captured the imagination of the few who heard the story, but most believed the tales of magic to be incredible exaggerations. A few more tales of amazing encounters were summarized involving Zatara and The Spectre, and Scoop’s opinion that the heroes use parlor tricks to convince the world of their incredible powers.

I came into this not knowing what to expect – but with the knowledge that when DC has gone back to the well with some of these older writers, that things never quite jived properly in my head (Jim Shooter’s Legion, Len Wien’s fill-ins on Justice League, Mark Waid’s return to Flash). That said, this book was pretty dang entertaining – and I like the fact that they look to be hitting the different eras with artists that helped define those times. Joe Kubert with some earlier stuff, Jose Garcia Lopez and Dave Gibbons for a stretch coming up, and who knows in the future. A nice touch.

I really enjoyed it. I think they should have spent a little less time name-dropping, and more time showing these Golden Age heroes, but that is a small quibble. I think the issue had a fantastic classic feel – real good atmosphere. A pleasure to read.

Zatanna #1 , $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 05/17/10 ON TIME
Written by Paul Dini, Pencils by Stephane Roux, Colors by John Kalisz, Inks by Karl Story

After a performance, Zatana is approached by Detective Dale Colton, who wants her input on an unusual crime scene. Zatanna uses magic to replay the memories of a single survivor of the attack, and learns that Brother Night and a team of allies stormed the party and attacked. She goes to his den to confront Brother Night, and learns that he is expanding his reach to the human underworld. Zatanna slaps him and his crew around for a bit, and leaves – he then goes to enlist the aid of an ally for revenge.

This issue features a very splashy return appearance by Rape! I mean seriously, that first page? Is one of the most rapetastic things I’ve ever seen.

But it was stage Rape – kind of like a Thanos dupe or a Doombot. Dangerous, but not nearly as bad as the real thing.

The real Rape would have held off until the end, where the totally “unnecessarily naked” Zatanna scene was. God I hate comics sometimes.

Does it make you more or less mad to know that Paul Dini is married to a magician that looks exactly like Zatanna in real life? And no, I’m not even joking about that. not even a little. Anyway, normally I’m pretty easy going on these books, but I’m going to come down on this book. Because I did not like it. First off, that bit of stage rape to start? Yeah, Zatanna is totally going to have guys dress up as Dr. Light, who is a known rapist (and who licked the salty remains of Firestorm’s girlfriend in a Blackest Night book) and the Joker, who is known for tons of grizzly murders tie her up in a stage show for fun. I mean, WHAT?

And yeah, that’s even before we get to the gratuitous stuff.

Her selections certainly weren’t the best choices. And there was a lot to be irritated about in this book – Dini should know better. I liked the way she was presented in Seven Soldiers much better. I really don’t know where I am with this title…

I’m not in a good place, that’s for sure. Not sure if I’d be up for any more to be sure…

The Thanos Imperative: Ignition #1 , $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/26/10 ON TIME
Written Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, Pencils by Brad Walker, Colors by Wil Quintana, Inks by Andrew Hennessy

Thanos recaps his fate at the end of the Annihilation War, his death at the hands of Drax the Destroyer, how the insane Adam Warlock found his body and preserved it, and how the Universal Church of Truth found his cocoon and mistook it for Adam Warlock regeneration, how he returned and destroyed their world in the process. Thanos laments his life, mourns his again-lost love Death, bringing us to the present where Thanos is in chains, imprisoned in Knowhere by the Guardians of the Galaxy, where Mantis, Moondragon, and Cosmo attempt to figure out why he is back, and telepathically keep his rage in check. Elsewhere, the rest of the Guardians debate whether or not they should kill him.

Across the galaxy, Nova is hot on the tail of the fake-Quasar (recall the last issue of Nova), who is heading back to the Fault. Nova communicates with the real Quasar and Gladiator who are at the mouth of the Fault, preparing for invasion. Quasar departs to assist Nova with his quarry, and Nova drops into real space only to find a fleet of Universal Church ships waiting at the mouth of the Fault. An Inhuman/Kree fleet arrives with Blastaar, and engage the Universal Church. Nova catches up with Fake Quasar, and the two come to blows. An ally arrives, tipping the scales against Nova- Adam Magus. Quasar arrives to help even the odds, but the Universal Church brings another piece on the board – entire planets, filled with true believers, adding power to their already dangerous fleet. They detonate the planets, causing a massive telepathic ripple that is felt all the way to Knowhere, which enrages Thanos, allowing him to break free. The leader of the “Cancerverse” arrives – Lord Mar-vell, who wants to destroy Death and her avatar, Thanos.

Do you get it? Because he died from CANCER. Oh, the irony is delicious. And that reveal was pretty damn awesome. Would’ve been a bit better had that nonsense of Mar-vell returning, but not returning during Civil War…

For a moment when you first saw Mar-Vell, from behind, talking yellow, I was just imagining how awesome a Cancerverse Deadpool would be, what with the cancer and the maybe hating Death in that universe. This is so much less cool.

I think that’s because you might be the only person who has gotten their fill-and-a-half of Deadpool in different books right now. Seriously, I may have tossed the book across the room if that happened.

Well, the difference between me and everyone else is, if the book a favorite character of mine is in a bad book, I stop reading it. So while others are sick of him, I am still eagerly anticipating a good run.

Anyway – outside the minor let-down over the identity of the big-bad, this issue was a good start for the event. All the right players were there, and the action was explosive from the beginning. I am interested in checking out the main event.

Ditto, but at this point, that’s pretty much par for the course for DnA.

Secret Avengers #1, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/26/10 ON TIME
Written Ed Brubaker, Art by Amanda Conner, Colors by Paul Mounts

In Dubai, an arrogant American exec cosies up to a pair of beautiful women, who are actually Valkyrie and Black Widow in disguise, on an op. With a little help from Steve Rogers, they defeat the executive’s security and retrieve their target, a box containing an artifact they believe to be the Serpent Crown. Beast analyses the crown and finds it isn’t quite what they thought it to be, and Steve takes a few minutes to make out with Sharon Carter. Later, Moon Knight and Ant-Man break into Roxxon headquarters to try and steal a little data on the crown, and they discover something strange about a supposedly abandoned mine on Mars. Nova is sent to Mars to recon, but encounters more than expected. Diving into a mountain to get a break from combat, Nova discovers another Serpent Crown, which he goes to put on against Worldmind’s advice. Part of the team goes to investigate, but back at headquarters, the Shadow Council attacks, seeking to reclaim the crown.

This? I’m okay with. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the team that Brubay… umm… Captain America put together, but seeing it in action, I’m perfectly fine with it. And I liked the scene where everyone is going, “How do we get to Mars?” and Cap just smiles and says, “Don’t worry, I know a guy.

Yeah, the introduction to Nova was decent – but I am a little worried he is going to be dumbed down for this series. I’m sorry – but after being at the heart of three cosmic wars, no writer has the right to have the same character get excited about joining the Avengers because he is finally “in the big leagues.” Nova outgrew that a long time ago.

I read that line as Rich sarcastically recounting what Steve had told him to get him to lend a hand every now and then, but we’ve been differing on our reads this week quite a bit. I have no problem with it, mostly because your perception saw Nova going up to the big leagues with his book, but my perception saw a low selling book that nobody saw. This is the big leagues, Craig.

Annihilation was hardly a “low selling book that nobody saw.” And neither was his ongoing, really – for the first half of its run it was near the top of Marvel’s line.

I’m keeping an open mind on it, but we will have to see…

Power Girl #12, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 05/26/10 ON TIME
Written Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray, Art by Amanda Conner, Colors by Paul Mounts

We open this issue with Terra taking Power Girl to meet her family, and they go into this pool where they have to wear these weird, almost-nothing looking bathing suits. Terra soon explains that the pool “isn’t just about the visuals” and we’re treated to some flashbacks. Then the girls put their bits away and have some hug time, before Power Girl goes home and names her kitty, deals with the aftermath of a blackmailing comic reading kid who got a pretty girlfriend out of knowing Power Girl, and then, it’s the return of Vartox, chesty man of action (and sex times). There’s a bit of a fight, and then PG goes to work to find out that someone who has been very important to her for the past 12 issues is leaving the book due to other commitments, and the stress of full time work (wink wink). There’s a little bit more chatting, and then there is a party and the book comes to an end!

This was an outstanding final issue for this creative team – but the fact that they managed to tie every single loose end up just shows how tragically short this run was. But for whatever reason, it was a solid 12 issues. This team will definitely be missed.

Well, they ended up jumping off the book much like the text of the issue implied: Amanda Conner can do a monthly book, but at the expense of a lot of other things, and the guys writing didn’t want to continue without her. I’m just glad we got twelve issues out of Conner… she’s not one of those artists known for hitting a monthly schedule, and usually does a book here and there over the course of a year.

If that is indeed the reason – you really have to hand it to Connor. There are a ton of artists who can’t handle a monthly book, yet say they can and cause delay after delay. She was on time with her work, only to back out when she realized she wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Great self-awareness and work ethic there. It is to be commended.

THE CHOPPING BLOCK

The List So Far

Demo #5 (of 6), $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 06/02/10
iZombie #2, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 06/02/10
Spectacular Spider-Girl #2, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 06/02/10
Birds of Prey #2, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 06/16/10
Booster Gold #33, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 06/09/10
DC Universe Legacies #2 (of 10), $3.99, DC Comics. Due Out 06/16/10
Zatanna #2, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 06/23/10
The Thanos Imperative #1, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 06/03/10
Secret Avengers #2, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 06/30/10
Power Girl #13, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 06/23/10

Trade Bank Value – $2.25
Amulet 3: The Cloud Searchers, $10.99, Graphix. Due Out 09/10

Future Issues
Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine #2, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 07/08/10

Well, with a virtually new list, it is probably expected that there will be more than a couple drops this month (though I think you will instantly reject my idea to drop iZombie)… anything jump out as particularly sucky for you this month?

I don’t think I can deal with Zatanna again. My brain might implode, to be sure. And I surely do disregard your call to drop iZombie.

Heh – well, my brain might creak to a halt out of formulaic boredom if we have to sit through another issue of iZombie!

What about Spider-Girl? Back to the rack for that one?

Yeah, sadly, off it needs to go.

DROPPED: Spectacular Spider-Girl #2, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 06/02/10

Now I think we need to come back to Power Girl. We gave the title one more issue – sparing it from the pillaging we saw last month. Well, my bloodlust is somewhat sated… the question is, does this title get a stay?

I wouldn’t be adverse to seeing what the new creative team has in store. And hey, with Judd Winick involved, we could very well see Terra gets AIDS, which is always fun.

Ah, AIDS. Giving cheap emotional depth to bad scripts since 2004.

Well, while I thought Zatanna could have been better, I don’t think it was so bad that we need to cast it away in disgust. Unless there are any other titles that stand out as bad for you, it looks like we might be set to move on.

New Books

Well, with the books dropped this week, it looks like we have plenty of room for our new stuff. But first, I think we need to set aside another $3 for our Trade Bank. Agreed?

I am amicable to this sundry action. Those are words, right?

ADD:, $3 to Trade Bank for Amulet 3: The Cloud Searchers, $10.99, Graphix. Due Out 09/10

They are words, yes. Used correctly? That’s debatable.

Well, as the list stands now (Particularly with Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine off in June), we have just enough room for one new book.

Of course, the new Batman Beyond series caught my eye, but for a change we are really DC-heavy right now. Luckily, I may have just the thing – the Jeff Parker penned Namora #1. Anything else jump out at you?

Not really. I was leaning more towards that Batman Beyond mini myself, though. And seriously, soon enough, we’ll probably be dropping a DC book or two…

That settles it for me then.

ADD: Batman Beyond #1 (of 6), $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 06/16/10

June List

Demo #5 (of 6), $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 06/02/10
The Thanos Imperative #1, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 06/02/10
iZombie #2, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 06/02/10
Booster Gold #33, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 06/09/10
Birds of Prey #2, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 06/16/10
Batman Beyond #1 (of 6), $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 06/16/10
DC Universe Legacies #2 (of 10), $3.99, DC Comics. Due Out 06/16/10
Zatanna #2, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 06/23/10
Power Girl #13, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 06/23/10
Secret Avengers #2, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 06/30/10

Trade Bank Value – $5.25
Amulet 3: The Cloud Searchers, $10.99, Graphix. Due Out 09/10

Future Issues
Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine #2, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 07/08/10

The Math

$.19 (Bank from May) + $40 (May Budget) = $40.19

$40.19 – $32.90 (May issues) – $2.55 (tax) – $3 (Trade Bank Deposit) = $1.74 Banked for June

Looks like we are well on track for Amulet 3, and there was a lot less slashing this month than I was expecting. I guess we will have to wait another 30 days for things to break down.

Well, that looks like its it for this month! And I don’t know about you, Craig, but I plan on getting absolutely blitzed right now. This business is tough work and junk.

In lieu of witty repartee, I will just end with an “Agreed” while it is still Monday. See you in a month!

Happy May! As usual, I am Craig “Cracker” Reade and this is the indomitable Brandon “Bricks Without Straw” Schatz. Say hello, maggot, and then back to work!

That’s right everyone, I’m black by popular demand! Now let’s pimp slap up some deep fried $40 Pull List goodness.

April Issues

S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/07/10 ON TIME
Written and Illustrated by Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver, Colors by Christina Strain

In 1953 New York, a young man named Leonid is taken by a pair of men in suits who claim to know who he really is. He is taken to The Immortal City – located deep beneath Rome, touted as the home of the Immortals and the “High Council of Shield.”

Leonid is told of Imhotep, the first of the Immortals, and explain that they exist to honor and emulate individuals like Imhotep who act as a shield between humanity and the unknown. Leonid is shown many notable members of the Shield over history, and some of the conflicts they faced. He agrees to join.

3 years later, his father (The Night Machine) appears from “beyond the veil,” explaining that he intends to tear the Shield down. He produces a key that opens a door to “Iter,” presumed lost for centuries. They open the door, and Leonid is sent inside and up the stairs, while his father holds off Agents “Stark and Richards.” At the top, Leonid encounters Leonardo DaVinci.

I think my thoughts about this book can almost be summerized thusly:

AHHHHHH!! AHHH!!! AHH!! AHH!! AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

Seriously, I was freaking out when I read this comic, whether it was from the story, which I absolutely loved, or the art, which was pretty amazing. Seriously, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen something with this kind of big crazy scope in comics, and I’m really glad it’s happening.

And for the record, yeah, those were totally Tony and Reed’s parentals. Awesome.

It was a decent start. Granted, I wasn’t nearly as excited about this as you were, and I definitely think the pace was a little slow. But there is some potential here – at the very least, I am interested in seeing what comes next.

Jonah Hex #54, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 04/07/10 ON TIME
Written by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti, Art by Jordi Bernet

A gang of bank robbers clumbsily interrupts Hex’s whiskey time, and one of their number stumbles into his clutches (while the others beat a retreat). Hex drags the prisoner into town to collect the bounty, but someone steals his horse while he is in the bar. He borrows a donkey and goes of in pursuit, when the *** throws him and knocks him cold. The horse thief covers him with a blanket and steals the donkey as well.

Hex is awakened by the remaining two bank robbers (who he promptly kills), who were being chased by Star Man (see Jonah Hex #27 for that one), who arrives on Hex’s horse. Without thinking, Hex heads back to town on his horse, and is promptly arrested for allegedly killing Sherrif Kane.

Of course, it was Starman who committed the crime, only it appears he didn’t intend Hex to take the fall. He and Chula work together to slip Hex a pistol in prison, which he uses to effect an escape. Hex is finally cleared of all charges, and both gunslingers ride off into the night.

You know, it was a very interesting move, having Ted Knight appear in, uh… wait, what? This issue was about what? Oh, I must not have remembered properly because it was sort of mega boring. There was a misunderstanding, right? And in the end, Jonah is a bit battered, but he rides away, right?

Yeah, this issue was a real let-down. They could have done so much more with this story set-up… instead we just got a “Oh, look, I know those characters!” issue, instead of a good story involving those characters. Maybe this issue is just a filler before the movie?

Who knows. Here’s hoping for something awesome next month… I’m starting to lose my patience…

Demo #3 (of 6), $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 04/07/10 ON TIME
Written by Brian Wood, art by Becky Cloonan

Marlo is a girl with some problems. Her obsessive compulsive disorder has caused her to live her life out through a series of post-it notes that she leaves around her house and carries with her around town, to make sure that her day goes on without much consequence. Obviously, she talks about this quite a bit with her therapist. Anyway, things take an interesting turn when someone starts leaving messages for her, much in the same way she’s been doing for herself. But is this sinister? Sweet? Or a larger delusion?

Ah, finally a good issue! Naturally, the comments pages at the end of the issue revealed this script was actually written for the first series – which doesn’t really help assure me that the next three issues will be good. Still – this is the kind of story I can get behind for this series. An excellent example of a single issue story.

This is pretty much right where I like a Demo to be, in terms of execution – though I will still argue that the previous issue was just as good. Basically, the only thing you can be assured of with this series is that every issue is going to be quite different from the last, all glimpsing briefly before moving onwards. But yeah, man, what an issue. I’m really pulling for the last half coming up here.

As am I, truth be told. Now that we have gotten a really strong issue, I am much more comfortable. I know that with single issue stories you aren’t going to get a five star book every time. It’s nice to see one going into a book, however. At this point, I think this book’s safe on the list for the rest of its run.

Wolverine: Weapon X #12, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/07/10 ON TIME
Written by Jason Aaron, Pencils by Ron Garney, Colors by Jason Keith

25 years in the future, we glimps a cell of rebels working against “Roxxon,” presumably a corperate entity that rules the country. We can divine rather quickly that Roxxon is going back in time targeting specific heroes – and so far, they are having success. They get ready to jump back and try to stop the Deathloks, and this time – a much older and much more wounded Logan wants to join them.

In the present, we realize that the young waitress Logan meets, who warns him of the future is the very same Miranda we see in the future, leading the fight against the Deathloks and Roxxon. Roxxon is looking for “The Savior,” a super-powered operative from the time just after Steve Rogers returns. Their next target is Captain America…. Bucky. The Deathloks track Bucky, but he holds them off long enough for Logan to arrive and even the odds. Meanwhile future Logan and Miranda make it to the machine that will allow them to jump into the past. Future Logan is killed in the attempt to make it to the machine.

You guys, I totally wonder if Wolvie can find a way out of this one. Because seriously, Marvel could totally kill him off and stuff.

Man, I’m a bit punchy this month. But seriously, I’m still really enjoying this book – and Jason Aaron, at the very least, is trying to tell some different stories with Wolverine, starting with his revenge flick Get Mystique riff, and going onto the Kung Fu/Chinatown spectacular and on from there. At least he’s switching things up a bit.

I don’t hate this arc, but I am a little let down by its stunning lack of creativity. This issue’s structure was particularly bad – I know time travel can be a difficult concept to present in a logical fashion, but Aaron seemed to be pulling the cutsey non-linear storytelling style that is all the rage. Combined with time travel, that just made this issue a mess.

Not horrible, but a huge step down from the last arc.

Hellcyon #1 (of 4), $3.50, Dark Horse Comics. Due Out 04/14/10 ON TIME
By Lucas Marrangon

Basically this series will center on a squad of rebels (Suicide Division), fighting the army sent from Earth to break an independence movement on the colony world of Halcyon. After a brief introduction, with the Earth military getting ready to disembark on the planet, we see members of them deploying around a Halcyon High School. The new president of the world asks the rebels to back down – explaining that they can’t stand up to the army, and while they will lose in the short term, their struggle will eventually bear fruit. Many students involved in the movement are outraged, and are ready to fight on their own. The military attacks… for some reason… the rebels run, and argue, and they eventually galvanize the will to fight in the end. I think.

Ummmm… yeah. What Craig said. Also… what??

Yeah, I think we’ll be talking about this one later.

Deadpool Team-Up #894, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 04/14/10 ON TIME
Written by Ivan Brandon, Art by Stanford Greene, Inks by Nathan Massengill, Color by John Rauch

Deadpool is hired by the widow of an “innocent bystander” killed by the Punisher in one of his raids. Remembering that Frank is supposed to be dead, Wade set’s out to find some proof of it to present to the grieving widow. While searching, Wade encounters a strange creature that seems to have the ability to call up uncomfortable memories from Wade’s childhood. The creature turns out to be called Maurice, and he leads him to a “city” called Monstertown, filled will all kinds of freaks.

In Monstertown, Wade discovers Frank Castle is indeed alive – but he has been rebuilt as a Frankenstein monster. (Frankencastle!). After the traditional hero brawl, Deadpool realizes he has been duped by the “widow,” and the two go to confront her. But she has found a new guardian in the meantime…

Is it odd that I want to complain about how jarringly lucid Deadpool was in this issue? It was like watching me talk, in a fancy get-up. Like, the insanity is there, but there’s just too much logic behind it, or something.

Oh, but hey, there’s Frankencastle, and you seriously can’t go wrong with Frankencastle.

Actually – it is odd that you want to complain about Deadpool’s lucidity. He’s not wacky-crazy all the time, and in my mind, that is the problem with the way he is usually portrayed lately. He’s normally logical… he just has a screw loose. And OCCASIONALLY he goes off the deep end. The way he is treated lately, he jumped off the deep end and never came back. That’s too insane for Wade – he wasn’t even this nuts during Kelly’s run, which is probably the silliest he has been credibly written.

But he’s more popular now – which just confirms to me that people in general have zero taste, and prefer garbage to quality. Now get off my lawn.

I think that’s just it – it’s been a loooooooong time since I read any old Deadpool – and what I read, I have nearly forgotten completely. (Maybe I should crack open those Deadpool Classic TPBs I got kicking around the ol’ homestead?) But I always liked Deadpool as a character who would enter a situation, identify the two logical ways to solve a problem, and then go for option C, because it seemed like the more awesome thing to do. That said, I’m not as big of a Deadpool afficianado, such as yourself, so whuddoo I know.

See, there is always a little of that. That is why things like the Sheep-cannon are so awesome. But the randomness really looses its flavor when it happens all the time, which is what we are getting now. It’s way cooler when the weird junk comes out of nowhere. Now you know to expect it in every situation.

Nova #36, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/21/10 ON TIME
Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, Art by Andrea DiVito, Colors by Brung Hang

Nova returns to Earth, to check on Project: PEGASUS, that is on lock down after the incident with the Fault for purely precautionary reasons. Nova banters with Quasar a bit, and finally reveals that he knows this “Quasar” is not who he claims to be. The two come to blows, and Nova does his best to distract Fake Quasar while Darkhawk investigates a strange energy distubance detected by Worldmind. Darkhawk discovers some kind of portal from another universe, with some kind of alien coming through it. It turns out that Fake Quasar was behind it all – and he has taken over the minds of the entire staff at PEGASUS to aid him.

Annoying flashback to 6 hours earlier – Nova on the Resolute Duty, talking with Namorita about their “plan.”

Back in the present, Nova manages to free Doctor Necker’s mind, and then goes to confront the Fake Quasar with Darkhawk, who reveals some of his plan. Darkhawk is wounded in the fight – but something happened when he tried to change back to human form. The armor disappeared, but his amulet remained fused to his chest. Nova defeats the alien making his way into their universe, and then goes of in pursuit of the fleeing Fake QUasar.

And the series ends! In a way. Seems like an odd way to come back to the plot point brought up in the Realm of Kings one shot, but whatever. I trust that Abnett and Lanning know what they are doing in this realm… though this appears to be it for this book forever, as Nova will soon be moved to the terra-based Marvel U to be a member of Ed Brubaker’s Secret Avengers.

Seriously – I am so annoyed at this title ending, I don’t even want to acknowledge it. Secret Avengers… really? I guess Nova had a good run, but it looks like Marvel’s well on its way to tossing Nova back in the refuse pile DnA pulled him out of. Really – with that awesome a set-up to a New Warriors reunion, they aren’t going to do it?

Out of the blue, this is canceled, Avengers: The Initiative is canceled, what the heck? I hate Marvel sometimes….

Well, looking at this objectively, Nova has actually been hovering around the cancellation level since around issue #18 – and appearing in an Avengers book written by Brubaker isn’t what I’d call “returning to the refuse pile”. Heck, this play could give Nova a high enough profile to sustain an ongoing for a longer period of time!

As for a New Warriors reuinon, it looks like we’re going to be dang close to it with most of the Avengers Academy staff being comprised of old New Warriors members… including SPEEDBALL. What. Up.

Power Girl #11, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 04/21/10 ON TIME
Written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, Pencils by Amanda Conner, Colors by Paul Mounts

Heh – “War on Terra…” cute!

As you may recall, way back at the beginning of this series, the Ultra Humanite attempted to transfer his brain into Power Girl’s body. Failing that, he appears to have succeeded in taking over Terra’s body. This issue opens with the two locked in combat, with the Ultra Humanite using Terra’s powers to their most destructive potential. Power Girl surrenders – and offers her body in exchange for Terras – and the offer is declined. The Ultra Humanite presses the attack, and reveals that Power Girl has been severely injured by Satanna’s Sonic Hammer. Power Girl goes down, but gets her second wind, and takes the Ultra Humanite into orbit to knock him out.

Power Girl tracks down the monster Terra’s brain has been transplanted into, and takes her and her unconcious body into Strata to see Aurla, their Chief Physician. She transfers Terra’s brain back into her body, and clones a new body for the Ultra Humanite from the DNA in his brain – that’s right, the Ultra Humanite has his old body back. He seems to be willing to accept his fate, but we quickly learn that vengeance is still on his mind. Same goes fot Satanna – who lost an arm this issue to Power Girl. She has a brand new one, and is looking to get her own bit of revenge.

What an awesome and fun series this has been. I say “has” been, because the next issue is the last for this creative team, and I have almost no doubt that when Judd Winick comes on board… well, let’s just say I have some issues with the way his stories go. I bet Power Girl gets AIDs or something.

Actually, if history is any indication, it will be Terra that gets AIDS. This is not good news at all. I suppose we should just enjoy this book while we still can….

If there’s one thing I know about AIDs, its that if you write a song about true love, and sing it to someone as they are dying from it, they will get better. That’s actual science. But yeah, we got one more issue of this awesomeness. I hear even Vartox is coming back for one more go. So yay!

Well, if there is one character that would make an AIDS story work its Vartox. The two seem to go together very well…

Green Lantern Corps #47, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 04/28/10 ON TIME
Written by Peter J. Tomasi, Pencils by Patrick Gleason, Inks by Rebecca Buchman, Tom Nguyen, Keith Champagne & Mark Irwin, Colors by Randy Mayor

In the beginning, we see all five lions combine to form Voltron! Thundercats ho!

Or something like that. We start off with the usual “We just finished a major storyline, and here is your team posing with their power-source sparking. Really silly, but its standard, so we will go with it. In the aftermath of Blackest Night, the Corps charges their central Power Battery, Guy and Kyle chitchat about the end of the battle (for those who didn’t read the series), the Lanterns have a funeral for their dead, the bearerless Rings are sent out to find new owners, Kilowag steps down as the Drill Instructor and a replacement is assigned, Isamot donates his legs to Vath, which infuriates him (Rannians hating Thanagarians and all), and a few Lanterns go and give the Guardians a piece of their mind. As a result, the Third Law is repealed.

Man, Craig, I think you would’ve liked the Care Bear Stare that ended Blackest Night. Or some kind of reference to Rainbow Bright. Or something.

Seemed odd that this issue had such a crazy info dump in it, but whatever. I was sated by the fact that it ended up like this past week’s episode of Glee did, minus some singing. Seriously, you guys, I want all my comics to include songs and dancing.

Heh – maybe true, but since we dropped Blackest Night, little point in talking about it, you know?

The info dump wasn’t terrible – it seemed like a “jumping on” issue, and it was a good time for one. Though the less I see of Glee the better – I’ve seen it… I just don’t get the appeal. But then, that isn’t a comic (thank God…)

Maybe it’s because you don’t have the courage to believe in yourself, Craig. To be a shining star. No matter who you are.

Riiight. I do have the courage to accept that I am not faaabulous, I don’t have any desire to groom any more than I do, I don’t want to wear hot-pants, and I definitely have never felt the urge to sing and dance to “Single Ladies.”

And if its rainin’ men, I am not putting on a “raincoat” – I’m staying the heck inside!

And I am comfortable with that!

Craig, I am disappointed by your out-of-date and pejorative use of the word “fabulous”. If you’re going to use it nowadays, you have to dress it up, as in “lady fabulous” or “ghetto fabulous” or “prison rape fabulous”. You would know these things if you watched Glee.

Wait, what were we talking about??

True story – I invented the description “ghetto fabulous” in the early 90’s. And who said anything about pejorative? And I am not sure I want any part of Prison Rape Fabulous. Speaking of Rape… he hasn’t been seen in the DCU in a while…

Actually, I am not sure how we got this side-tracked. I guess it’s time to move on.

Invincible Iron Man #25, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/28/10 ON TIME
Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Salvador Larroca, Colors by FrankD’Armata

A new Armor Suit is introduced by Hammer called “Detroit Steel,” piloted by an Air Force Lieutenant named Doug Johnson. Tony starts dreaming of a new suit, and puts Pepper in charge of rebuilding his company. Potts goes to the military, but Stark intervenes, declaring that he won’t go the way of his father, and he won’t build Stark on War. The Hammers start buying up old HAMMER gear (and scraping the dots off), and Thor pops by to have a chat with Tony, and offers him a ton of cash, which he turns down. Instead, he opens a licensing market to his repulsor technology.

Right, so its no secret that I love the crap out of this book – and I think this issue is a prime example of why. Awesome ideas, great interactions, and just solid creation all around. Thank goodness we clinged to this book past the last arc (which I still enjoyed, but whatever).

Ha ha, yes, yes. Thank goodness we sat through two pretty cruddy, overly long arcs for more than a year, so that we could get to this one semi-decent issue! I am gratified that I am not looking to curb-check this issue right out of the gate, but its still on probation for me. We are off to a good start though – so I will give it credit for that much.

Late and Unreleased Titles

Choker #3, $3.99, Image Comics. Due out 04/21/10 Delayed until 05/26/10

This really isn’t any surprise to me. I thought that issue #2 would be late – and last month, I owned up to being wrong there. But this time, issue #3 has been delayed – not because of a printing error – but because they were so busy at conventions that they just didn’t have time!

Only in comics is it acceptable to sacrifice producing your product in order to promote it. Perhaps I am being too touchy, but I have never read an Image title that wasn’t late most of the time. Yeah – I am way more forgiving of late books from Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse. That’s because most of their titles actually come out as scheduled each and every single month, regardless of what conventions or side projects or World of Warcraft or special brownies happen to pop up that keep the artists from getting the work done on time. If they can’t do it, then they shouldn’t schedule it until the book is done…

There’s actually a good story about Mark Bagley to tell here. When DC was about to announce him as the principle artist on Trinity, he asked Dan Didio if it was cool if he only made the one appearance at a con to announce the move, because he wanted to focus on getting the book out. Didio, as the story goes, nearly squeed with delight and clapped his hands.

But yeah, whenever a book is late and I see a bunch of con appearances scheduled, I scratch my head. I know a lot of these are confirmed and planned and (most times) paid for by organizers months upon months in advance, but yeah. If you’re going to solicit a book, you obviously need to take a good hard look at your schedule and see if you’re going to hit those deadlines.

For the most part, I don’t fault guys doing their first Image series, and suddenly realizing that there’s a whole lot of extra stuff involved in getting a comic out that you didn’t quite account for (balloon placement edits, tweaking script for art that doesn’t quite meld together, print lead time, blah blah blah). That happens, and you learn. In that sense, I can’t really fault Ben McCool, but Mr. Templesmith? For shame. You’re making me look bad in front of the Craig, and I don’t like it.

Although seriously, your comment about Dark Horse books shipping on time made me laugh a little – especially when every book we’ve put on this list from them got axed for being late.

Now that’s not entirely accurate – Usagi Yojimbo was dropped from this list before just to make room for something new. The reason I point out Dark Horse is that while they have their share of late comics, as a company they take a much harder line on scheduling. Their main books are all on time. At Image, 4 Pilot Season books are still late. Witchblade has 4 issues that have passed their solicitation date. Spawn has 7 issues. Invincible? 3 issues late. Broken Trinity: Pandora’s Box? 4 issues late. Bomb Queen IV? Heck, that’s so late they are getting ready to resolicit it. If you look at the Dark Horse list, its pretty well just a few trades – maybe an issue or two here and there. Image makes late books a policy – why do you think it was so fitting that their 10th Anniversary book came out what, 13 years after they started?

The reason Image can get away with it is that comic fans always just shrug their shoulders and accept it, buying whatever excuse is offered and waiting patiently for the artist to finish their raid and get the book done.

Personally I find that attitude to be one of the most destructive things to comics in general. Which is why I have zero tolerance for it from Image, who have beat the concept to death and then done unspeakable things to the corpse.

Well, at Image, there’s no editorial staff driving deadlines – it’s just the creative teams chugging on their own juices. If I were going to put the blame on someone, it would be creative teams for biting off a little more than they can Chew, and never friggen learning from it. Get a book done, solicit it. Is that really so hard?

That said, I’m much more forgiving of terrible schedules when the creative team is making nothing off their book. Not the case for Invincible and such, but a good chunk of Image books sell maybe enough to pay an artist a living wage… maybe. If they want to take some time earning cash elsewhere to eat, I’m pretty okay with that.

That’s just the thing – it’s not just the little guys struggling to get by. It’s all of Image’s main books. And 9 times out of 10, they aren’t late because they are busy with their day job. Come on B – you’ve been exposed to as many people in the industry as I have. They’re playing WOW or taking bong hits, or just slacking off. It’s pretty well a running joke in the industry. And even if they do have a day job that is preventing them from doing the work – they shouldn’t be committing to a monthly schedule they can’t keep! Do the work in advance, and then solicit it. I am not saying that the reasons you give for being forgiving aren’t good ones. The trouble is, they hardly ever apply.

That’s why I am so hard on Image. I get the initial motive – having creators own their work. But editors have a place in the industry. By not having that editorial pressure, or even finding a way to replace it, those idealistic Image creators are guaranteeing that they have 100% share of about nothing.

The List So Far

Jonah Hex #55, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 05/05/10
Demo #4 (of 6), $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 05/05/10
Deadpool Team-Up #893, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 05/05/10
Avengers: The Initiative #35, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/12/10
Hellcyon #2 (of 4), $3.50, Dark Horse Comics. Due Out 05/12/10
Invincible Iron Man #26, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/19/10
Wolverine: Weapon X #13, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/26/10
Choker #3, $3.99, Image Comics. Due out 04/21/10 DELAYED UNTIL 05/26/10
Power Girl #12, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 05/26/10
Green Lantern Corps #48, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 05/26/10

Future issues:
S.H.I.E.L.D. #2, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 06/03/10
Choker #4, $3.99, Image Comics. Due out 05/19/10 DEALAYED UNTIL ?

The Chopping Block

It seems like we have reached one of those moments with the list (they come every now and again) where things come together and the list is virtually reworked. As I am in a bad mood over Nova, Avengers: The Initiative, and Power Girl I feel less forgiving than usual. Maybe multiple drops?

Since I don’t think you will accept my suggestion to cancel everything on the list and start all over, I will begin with the obvious. Is it safe to say that Hellcyon is gone?

I say thee “yay”. And seriously, I won’t accept your call to drop the whole list. But you know something, if we kept… say Demo and that last issue of Power Girl, I’d be down with whatever.

DROPPED: Hellcyon #2 (of 4), $3.50, Dark Horse Comics. Due Out 05/12/10

Hrm… an interesting offer you just made there. Of course, that would mean the end of Jonah Hex’s storied run as the last remaining title from the original $40 Pull List.

Hrm.

Well, let’s be honest here. The title might be decent for the next couple months with the movie, but in all honesty, by July it will be back to the usual roller coaster. I can miss it. Deal.

DROPPED: Jonah Hex #55, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 05/05/10
DROPPED: Deadpool Team-Up #893, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 05/05/10
DROPPED: Avengers: The Initiative #35, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/12/10
DROPPED: Invincible Iron Man #26, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/19/10
DROPPED: Wolverine: Weapon X #13, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/26/10
DROPPED: Choker #3, $3.99, Image Comics. Due out 04/21/10 DELAYED UNTIL 05/26/10
DROPPED: Green Lantern Corps #48, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 05/26/10
DROPPED: S.H.I.E.L.D. #2, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 06/03/10

And that returns $4.30 to the pool as well – with the loss of the already-paid-for Choker, which means the next section is going to be a doozy.

New Books

I think it might be time for a quick look at where we stand now:

The List So Far:

The List So Far

Demo #4 (of 6), $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 05/05/10
Power Girl #12, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 05/26/10

The Math:

$1.12 (Bank from April) + $40 (May Budget) + $4.30 (Choker #3) = $45.42

$45.42 – $5.98 (May issues) – $0.46 (tax) = $38.98 Banked for June

Well, we have a whole mess-a books to pick up this month. To be a little more specific – we have room for about 12 $2.99 books.

Well, May is definitely a good month for Marvel – and there is a ton that stand out there. There is Jason Aaron’s Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine #1, Spectacular Spider-Girl #1 (there’s a strange return for you), Rescue #1 (the further adventures of Iron-potts), Brubaker’s Secret Avengers #1, or Bendis’ Avengers #1, or there are a pair of ok looking one-shots, Dazzler #1, and even weirder – Galacta: Daughter of Galactus #1. Over at DC, there is the return of Gail Simone to Birds of Prey, DC Universe Legacies #1 looks kind of interesting, and there is the new Zatana ongoing by Paul Dini. Anything else look good to you? Any stand-outs?

Considering it’s the continuation of the storylines from Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy, I say we grab the Thanos Imperitive kick off one shot for sure. And I’d also suggest another crack at the new Vertigo dollar book: iZombie, with art by Mike Allred. But I’m open to negotiations…

I am good with both of those. I do think that Secret Avengers and Birds of Prey are absolute musts … so I am going to add those four to the list right now.

ADD:iZombie #1, $1.00, DC Comics. Due Out 05/05/10
ADD:Birds of Prey #1, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 05/12/10
ADD:The Thanos Imperative: Ignition #1, $3.99, Comics. Due Out 05/26/10
ADD:Secret Avengers #1, $3.99, Comics. Due Out 05/26/10

Obviously, we have room for more….

I’m seriously (SERIOUSLY!) going to toss Galacta, Daughter of Galactus at you. It’s written by Adam Warren, he of Livewires (at Marvel) and Empowered (at Dark Horse). He is crazy and I love him, and it’s a one shot. And I know for a fact that you’re either going to absolutely love the book, or despise it beyond all capable reason – which is going to be fun to see.

I’m also going to toss out Booster Gold #32 at you for two reasons: Keith Giffen and J. M. Dematteis. What say you to that

Well, Galacta was on my initial list at the beginning of this section, so I am down with that. Actually, both suggestions sound good there, so consider them on.

ADD:Booster Gold #32, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 05/12/10
ADD:Galacta: Daughter of Galactus, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/19/10

Instead of suggesting another pair of comics, I am going to propose something a little different. One thing I always wanted to incorperate into the list (but never did) was a trade bank. Basically we would set aside a variable amount each month to save for a future graphic novel or collection that looks interesting. For the comic reader on a budget, how else are they going to afford those books with a cover price of $5 and up?

I propose that we institute the Trade Bank with a $2.25 deposit for the September release of Kazu Kibuishi’s Amulet: Book Three.

I agree with this choice. Kazu Kibuishi makes some great comics, and this book should be super awesome. But still we’re a little short. I think I’m going to recommend we try Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine… and the DC Legacies book. Both have the all the Kuberts working on them, which should be nifty.

Seriously one of the most underused creators in comics. No idea if this is by choice or not, but we will do our share here.

ADD:, $2.25 to Trade Bank for Amulet 3: The Cloud Searchers, $10.99, Graphix. Due Out 09/10

And agreed on those two titles as well.

ADD:Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine #1, $3.99, Comics. Due Out 05/05/10
ADD:DC Universe Legacies #1, $3.99, Comics. Due Out 05/19/10

Well, with room for 2 more books, how about we go with Zatanna #1 and heck, how about some nostalgia? Spectacular Spider-Girl #1?

These are things that I agree with. Though I almost expect to hate Zatanna with a firey passion. In that I sort of don’t like Paul Dini’s comics. But I’ve subjected you to enough of my things.

ADD:Zatanna #1, $2.99, Comics. Due Out 05/19/10
ADD:Spectacular Spider-Girl #1, $3.99, Comics. Due Out 05/05/10

May List

Demo #4 (of 6), $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 05/05/10
iZombie #1, $1.00, DC Comics. Due Out 05/05/10
Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine #1, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/05/10
Spectacular Spider-Girl #1, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/05/10
Birds of Prey #1, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 05/12/10
Booster Gold #32, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 05/12/10
Galacta: Daughter of Galactus, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/19/10
DC Universe Legacies #1, $3.99, DC Comics. Due Out 05/19/10
Zatanna #1, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 05/19/10
The Thanos Imperative: Ignition #1, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/26/10
Secret Avengers #1, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/26/10
Power Girl #12, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 05/26/10

Trade Bank Value – $3
Amulet 3: The Cloud Searchers, $10.99, Graphix. Due Out 09/10

The Math

$1.12 (Bank from April) + $40 (May Budget) + $4.30 (Choker #3 return) = $45.42

$45.42 – $39.89 (May issues) – $3.09 (tax) – $2.25 (Trade Bank Deposit) = $0.19 Banked for June

Well then – this was an unexpected column. May looks a heck of a lot different than I was expecting.

Dude, it’s going to be crazy balls awesome. I’m looking forward to all this newness.

Well, the massive cull has resulted in this column being late enough. Let’s dive right into the newness! See you next month.

April, 2010

By Craig Reade and Brandon Schatz

A little late (apologies!) but welcome to a new month. So once again, decidedly not live, I am Craig Reade, and my floppy-headed partner is the incomparable Brandon Schatz.

Greetings from Nanuktuk! I know all of you are wondering why this is so late… so I’m going to tell it to you straight. John Cusack has twitter. And Facebook. I make no apologies.

Nor should you good sir. It is quite easy to get caught up in his impossibly deep eyes and boyish looks.

All is quite forgiven.

I just get lost in his eyes. You know… his metaphorical eyes. Since he doesn’t often post pictures of his eyes.

We should probably get this show on the road, eh?
 

March Issues

 
Jonah Hex #53, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 03/03/10 ON TIME

Written by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti, Art by Billy Tucci, Colors by Paul Mounts

Movie prep time? Maybe. The cover features a woman dressed really similarly to those shots of Meagan Fox from filming.

In any case, the story starts in a dance hall, where Hex hires a dancer named Lana to help him work on a bounty… saying he needed some “acting” done.

Fast forward to our bandits, the Hager Brothers, who successfully rob the train. Checking the cars, they stumble on a woman and a casket. Believing her to be a wealthy easterner who has hidden riches in the coffin, they demand to see what is inside. Of course, the woman is none other than Lana, and the stiff is Jonah Hex, who leaps into action and quickly dismantles Hager’s gang.

Hex’s employer arrives with the money, but the man turns out to be Jethro Hager, who set the whole thing up to get his brothers out of the way. And with a swift hit to the back of a head with a shovel, Lana reveals she was in on it the whole time. But Hex quickly recovers, and kills Jethro, and shoots Lana in the back.

You want to know what really would’ve made this issue of Jonah Hex read better? If there wasn’t a twist at the end. I don’t know about you, but when Jonah places his trust in someone, you can see their sudden yet inevitable betrayal coming a mile away.

Yeah, not having a twist would be quite a twist, wouldn’t it? Yeah, this issue was pretty lackluster to say the least.

Invincible Iron Man #24, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 03/03/10 ON TIME

Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Salvador Larroca, Colors by FrankD’Armata

Tony and Strange walk for a while, until Strange finally stirs something in Stark to make his mind act. Strange is drawn out of Tony’s mind right before Ghost pulls the trigger. Strange protects Tony, but Ghost quickly regains the upper hand. Hill and Potts intervene once again as Ghost gets close to killing Tony – giving him just enough time to come to and defeat Ghost.

In the end, we find out that Tony remembers nothing of Civil War, or any of the events that followed.

Which, unfortunately means he doesn’t remember the time he defeated John Stamos in the John Stamos look-alike competition from that Civil War Aftermath Special: This Man, This Stamos.

But that’s neither here nor there. I thought this issue ended pretty well, and was filled with quite a bit of development. That said, was it worth a whole five issues? Eh. Probably not. But I wasn’t bored, and I’m totally on board for the next story arc.

I think that about sums up my problem with the arc – it wasn’t worth five issues. In fact – this issue was mostly empty. We’d have been far better served by tacking the end of this issue onto the last. The last two arcs have been extremely padded – hopefully this doesn’t continue.

We are in an interesting place now – finally. I’d like to see things step up a bit.
Deadpool Team-Up #895, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 03/03/10 ON TIME

Written by Stuart Moore, Art by Dalibor Talajic, Color by Tomislav Tikulin

Deadpool is hired by the niece of It! The Living Colossus, who 5 years ago was defeated by Dr. Doom. His body has been in a coma ever since, and Deadpool has been hired to pilot a sub to take the comatose O’Bryan and his niece to It, in hopes that his mind can be rediscovered.

The sub is attacked by a pair of sea creatures – and Deadpool is able to fight them off by manipulating O’Bryan’s body, causing It to mimick his actions. The sub ruptures, and just as the cabin is filling with water, O’Bryan awakes, and melds with The Living Colossus. He defeats the sea creatures, and takes the damaged sub to the surface.

Oddly enough, of all the Deadpool books out there right now, I’ve been enjoying this one the most. That should seem odd, because I really do like it when there’s a common, uniting thread, but right now, I just can’t get enough of these wacky, obscure team-ups he’s been dropped into. I mean, which other character would this exactly work with?

I remember the end of that Cable Deadpool run, when Deadpool was just being hooked up with random people. The consensus then seemed to be that a Deadpool Team-Up idea would be grand, but I never thought it would actually happen. It isn’t 100% perfect (I still don’t like the inner dialogue), but I totally agree about this title being the best of all the Deadpool books out right now. Without question.

Yeah, the inner monologue thing they do… is not cool. I long for the days of the simple, somewhat understated Gail Simione yellow texty boxes and nothing more. But whatever.
Demo #2 (of 6), $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 03/03/10 ON TIME

Written by Brian Wood, art by Becky Cloonan

Right, so there’s this dude who fancy’s this other girl? And it’s pretty innocent and whatnot… fairly light-hearted… but see, he’s got a problem. He knows that eventually, he’s going to want to share a little bit more of his life with her. He’s going to want to take her home and tell her more about himself, and… well, the whole cannibal thing is probably going to freak her out a little. And so, like a man in love, he tries his best to change and eat other foods, but its hard, and his stomach can’t really taste it, so he tries to ween himself off by eating chunks of his own flesh. In the end, he realizes that there’s no sense in going changing yourself for love – and that if things are meant to be, she’ll understand.

Kind of reminds me of the time when I first met Craig, and he said… what was it, that you were going to dress up as a clown, and then eat me, or dress me up as a clown before eating me?

Well, unless I am mistaken, aren’t you still in my freezer?

See… there was something wrong with this issue. And after reading it twice, I still can’t figure it out. You know they never established that he actually ate other people? We only see that he eats his own flesh.

Which doesn’t make sense, because living on your own flesh would be pretty much impossible if you think about it.

Him being a cannibal and trying to eat himself to wean him off would make sense – and actually might make a kick *** story, but Wood doesn’t even really imply it. That’s actually a clever angle, and you would think it would be the driving force behind the story, and you can hardly figure out that is what is going on.

Just confused… so confused.

See, I didn’t get that bit of confusion. I thought the idea of his cannibalism was fairly well convayed by his reaction to “those kinds of people” and pretty much any other kind of food. Stories in Demo are often left vague on the actual points of fantasy, and lets the reader pretty much fill in the colors however they like.

Regardless of whether it is usually done or not, that bit of unclarity really isn’t an example of strong writing. This isn’t a color that needs filled it, it is a core plot element that makes or breaks the story. But I’ll go easy on Wood this time around for your sake… I know that he’s in the elite McKeever/Cusak man-love club. Last month’s issue was better though, and that being a less-than-stellar effort makes me fear for the long-term quality of this book.
Wolverine: Weapon X #11, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 03/03/10 ON TIME

Written by Jason Aaron, Pencils by Ron Garney, Colors by Jason Keith

Some dude named Slag monologues for a bit, until he is interrupted by a cyborg, who kills him.

The scene shifts to Logan and Steve Rogers – the former taking the latter on a bit of a tour to celebrate his return.

The cyborg finds his next targets – a couple on their first date. After confirming that they will eventually marry and have a child together (who turns out to be a superhero called vigilante, he kills the pair, presumably altering history.

Logan and Steve have a bit of a heart-to-heart, and Logan starts a fight. The cyborg continues his killing spree, this time attacking a pair of twins still in the maternity ward.

Finally, a young girl with prophetic dreams tells Logan about the cyborgs, called “Deathloks” – and their next target it Captain America.

I love the idea of their beer run – thanks to their respective inner cocktails, both of them have a tough time getting drunk, so they totally decide to get hammered by flying around the world in a Quinjet, closing out bars across the world. Meanwhile, there’s IMPENDING DEATH FROM THE FUTURE!

I mean, I know neither of them are actually going to die, but I really like the idea of Deathlok playing some kind of twisted Terminator. And I say that as a man who has seen zero Terminator movies.

And yet, that didn’t stop you from picking up the one aspect of this issue that was a complete and total rip off. I am eager to see where this goes – not that it was a terrible start by any means, but if the sum total of this arc is going to be some Terminator parallel… well, it won’t be worth the extra buck an issue.

Um… I agree? You know, I’m staring to sense a theme with these columns – in that I haven’t seen or read a lot of these old school culture-y hoosits. Anyway, because of that, I wasn’t bothered by the parallel at all…

In this case, I don’t think I was bothered by it, so much as I found it kind of sad. A far cry from the utter creativity we got in the last arc.
Green Lantern Corps #46, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 03/10/10 ON TIME

Written by Peter J. Tomasi, Pencils by Patrick Gleason, Inks by Rebecca Buchman, Tom Nguyen, and Keith Champagne, Colors by Randy Mayor

A united spectrum of Lanterns press the fight against the Black Lanterns… Basically we get a big old brawl, and we learn that Ice has been killed, and is now a Black Lantern (we all knew she would die at some point). The battle finally turns to the Anti-Monitor, who is acting as a power source for the Black Lantern battery.

What an awesome fight – and what an awesome issue. Surprisingly light on the casualties, but frick, I’ll take it, as I really didn’t want to see any of these characters go. I think the only thing that could’ve made this better was a definite ending, and not just a prelude to all the lanterns going off to Care Bear Stare the bad guys…

Well, we knew this would be coming, what with that stinker the main event series is… eventually the action would go there for the ultimate climax. But we got some payoff here, so thanks to the writers for that.

I am ready for a little not-so-craziness on this book for a while, truth be told.

True. And we might be getting it in a few issues, as Tony Bedard takes the book over with a tweaked status quo. Should be interesting.
Nova #35, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 03/17/10 ON TIME

Written by San Abnett & Andy Lanning, Pencils by Mahmud A. Asrar, Inks by Scott Hanna, Colors by Brung Hang

Sphinx wields both Ka Stones, and the champions (for both) decide to ally to take him down. Young Sphinx, not quite dead, looks to be a potential savior, but the victorious Sphinx picks him up and swallows him whole. Reed Richards contemplates exactly how their situation is possible, and with Nova devises a plan to stop him. Nova opens a stargate, presumably piercing the reality bubble that was allowing Sphinx to hold 2 Ka stones until he was powerful enough to force the regular universe to accept that reality. The Sphinx is defeated – his reality dissolved, and the champions are returned to their rightful times. Except for one – Namorita, who Nova somehow managed to take with him.

Yeah! You know, DnA seem to operate on this system, that for every character they take away, one gets to come back – unlike many creators who just spend their time mowing down B and C listers for funsies.

I really think that has been what made this title so great – the respect for characters. I think you could put these two on any book at all, and they would find a way to make it awesome.

Even NFL Superpro. My faith is strong.

Marvel, make this happen.
Choker #2, $3.99, Image Comics. Due out 03/17/10 ON TIME

Written by Justin Ben McCool, Art by Ben Templesmith

In this issue, our hard-living gum-shoe-turned-cop-again deals with the ramifications of his deal in the previous issue – mainly hunting down some dude that’s so gross, people feel uncomfortable about him or some such. Anyhow, there’s a whole lot of neat bits to this thing – tropes of noir mixed in with a heaping helping of the supernatural… if we can’t have Fell, at least this sucker is coming out.

And as noted above, this issue came out on time, so yeah. Goooooood times.

Credit where it is due – the book was on time. Color me shocked.

The rest of it? Meh. The story is pretty bare-bones and formulaic. Not a lot happens. This book is all about the art (though, not the artistic storytelling). Templesmith has an interesting, gory style here that I get the feeling you are just supposed to look at the pictures, nod, and remark on how interesting it looks. Without paying much attention to how it helps tell the story (if at all).

Though, you were patient with Sgt. Rock, so I will try to keep my whining to a minimum here!

Awesome! Finally, that Sgt. Rock experience is good for something. (Zing!!!)

 
Power Girl #10, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 03/24/10 ON TIME

Written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, Pencils by Amanda Conner, Colors by Paul Mounts

Right, so we kick this issue off where the last one ended. Power Girl has a gravity well on her chest that’s going to crush her, and that’s bad. Terra ends up saving the day by being hardcore, and the pair end up going home – only to be black mailed by a kid who wants them to go to a comic store and do some other stuff. Anyway, they do that, and it’s cute and junk, but what’s this? It turns out Terra’s erratic behaviour in this issue… can be explained! By something sinister! And it has something to do with a giant ape man who is evil! Oh snap!

Continuity is indeed awesome in this case. The Ultra-Humanite has been around in some form since the very beginning, and how he managed to get his brain in Terra’s body should be an interesting story. As with the geek with the pictures of PG… I look forward to seeing how Kara plans to deal with his bullies.

I guess that is what makes a fun Superhero story to me – the normal and mundane problems mixed with the extraordinary. Awesome.

That’s pretty much why I liked Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane so much. A different tone, for sure, but still, it had that nice balance, which made both halves all the more better.
Avengers: The Initiative #34, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 03/24/10 ON TIME

Written by Christos Gage, Pencils by Jorge Molina, Inks by Andrew Hennessy, Color by Edgar Delgado

Night Thrasher makes a decision, and he joins Tigra to take on the Hood. Penance (memories seemingly intact) breaks free, and takes some members of the Shadow Initiative with him to join the Avengers Resistance in the fight. The Hood, Mandrill, and Griffin depart, presumably to aid Osborne in Asgard, leaving the scraps to fall at the hands of the Resistance. Meanwhile, the Avengers fight off HAMMER – and we find that the President himself ordered the Hood and his team to take out HAMMER. It seems Osborne has gone too far.

Ka-pow! Is anyone else getting the sense that everything going on right now is going to lead to some kind of reformation of the original New Warriors? Coupled with the events in Nova, this issue’s turn for Penance pretty much sets the stage for all the originals to be in the right place to do it. You know, minus the dead Night Trasher, but still.

Inded – Nova’s on his way back to Earth with Darkhawk and a time-displaced Namorita in tow, Penance is about done being emo-kid, Justice is in the thick of the fight, Night Thrasher is active as well (I consider Donyell legit anyway), and Firestar is going to be a part of your boyfriend’s Young Allies one shot in June, and the Firestar one shot this month. I guess you could count Marvel Divas on that list as well, but I’d rather not.

In any case – every single original New Warrior (or a valid successor) is active now, and very well developed character-wise, and highly prominent in the Marvel Universe. If Marvel was going to pull the trigger on a New Warriors reunion, the time is coming very quickly.

Kind of back on topic – I am loving the Constrictor arc. I also loved Cap pretending he couldn’t remember Tasky, just to get under his skin. A lot of good moments in this issue.

Heck yeah.

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

Written by Stuart Moore, Pencils by Mark Brooks, Inks by Walden Wong, Colors by Emily Warren

We start with a training session in the Danger Room, Storm overseeing a workout session with potential X-Recruit Dagger working out with some of the Young X-Men. Dr. Nemesis arrives with some test results – Dagger is not a mutant. Tandy tries to call Tyrone for some sympathy, but he is decidedly busy.

Flashback – to shortly after the pair got their powers, then quick back to the present. Cloak arrives, and the two talk briefly about Norman Osborne, and what happened. Cloak retreats back to Southie, where an old friend leads him into a trap.

Dagger goes to the X-Men for help, but they seem completely uninterested in lending their support. She goes after her partner solo – with the X-Men finally helping in the end when they have nothing better to do. Cloak is saved, and the pair decide to leave Utopia and strike out on their own once again.

I don’t really know what to think of this comic. I know that I hate people who complain about comics that “don’t count”, but this one-shot didn’t really seem to do much, other than revert the characters to an old status quo, despite the new one being quite interesting and 100% more marketable.

I don’t know if the old status quo was any more interesting or marketable – but I will agree that this issue really didn’t count for much of anything, and that was quite annoying. The only good thing I can think of was the portrayal of the X-Men – I kind of miss the days when mutants were somewhat isolationist, and despite fighting for acceptance, if you weren’t a mutant, they didn’t really give a crud about you. If Marvel is getting back to something like that, I count myself a fan.

But yeah – the issue was a let down. Needed something more to be worth it.

Well, by old status quo, I was talking about them being a part of the X-Men. Which really, is infinitely more marketable than just Cloak and Dagger. The “interesting” thing is a little more subjective, I suppose.

Indeed. Or at least more interesting. Cloak and Dagger was always a great concept – but as effective as Marvel’s marketing is, it can be a little lazy. Far easier to lump them in with the muties than it is to develop their own niche.

But they certainly had their day – way back. Here’s another one for DnA to do something with…
The List So Far

Jonah Hex #54, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 04/07/10
Invincible Iron Man #25, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/28/10
Deadpool Team-Up #894, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 04/14/10
Demo #3 (of 6), $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 04/07/10
Wolverine: Weapon X #12, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/07/10
Green Lantern Corps #47, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 04/28/10
Nova #36, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/21/10
Choker #3, $3.99, Image Comics. Due out 04/21/10
Power Girl #11, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 04/21/10
Avengers: The Initiative #34, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/12/10

Well, we are looking good this month in terms of drops. Avengers: The Initiative is off for the month, and Cloak and Dagger was just a one-shot. So unless there is something horrible, we don’t really need to drop anything to pick up a new book. Anything you would like to axe?

No sir. Some may have been a bit shaky for my tastes, but I don’t think any of them have been outright terrible.

I think you nailed it pretty well. It wasn’t a great month – but nothing was so horrible that they needed to be slashed. So on to the new books.
New Books

On to new books then. I pretty well had my pick last time around… is there anything that looks interesting to you in April?

I really, really, really want us to read S.H.I.E.L.D #1. Seriously? Galileo, Leonardo da Vinci, and a bunch of other dudes through TIME solving large cosmic problems before the Superheroes came along. How can that not be awesome?

It looks totally ridiculous. Let’s get it.
ADD: S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/07/10

Of course, that leaves us with about $4.50 (before tax)… more than enough for another book. In an effort to add a little randomness to the Pull, how about Dark Horse’s Hellcyon #1?

You know, the previews of it looked decent – this should be an interesting pick.
ADD: Halcyon #1, $3.50, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/14/10

 
April List

S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/07/10
Jonah Hex #54, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 04/07/10
Demo #3 (of 6), $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 04/07/10
Wolverine: Weapon X #12, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/07/10
Halcyon #1, $3.50, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/14/10
Deadpool Team-Up #894, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 04/14/10
Nova #36, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/21/10
Choker #3, $3.99, Image Comics. Due out 04/21/10
Power Girl #11, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 04/21/10
Green Lantern Corps #47, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 04/28/10
Invincible Iron Man #25, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 04/28/10

Future issues:
Avengers: The Initiative #34, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 05/12/10

The Math

$1.42 (Bank from March) + $40 (April Budget) = $41.42

$41.42 – $37.40 (April issues) – $2.90 (tax) = $1.12 Banked for May

Once again, sincere apologies for the tardiness of this column… back on track for May!

If I don’t drown in the handsome internet eyes of Cusack, for sure.

2007 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12
2008 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12
2009 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 4.1 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12
2010 – 1 – 2 – 3

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!

THE ARCHIVES

2007 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12

2008 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12

2009 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 4.1 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12
2010 – 1 – 2

]]> http://www.stillontheshelf.com/2010/03/02/the-40-pull-list-march-2010/feed/ 0 http://www.stillontheshelf.com/2010/01/31/the-40-pull-list-february-2010/ http://www.stillontheshelf.com/2010/01/31/the-40-pull-list-february-2010/#comments Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:55:12 +0000 Craig Reade http://www.stillontheshelf.com/?p=980
February, 2010
By Craig Reade and Brandon Schatz

Happy February! Hopefully, all of you are looking forward to some VD!

Yes once again, we’re coming at you like a crotch-full of the HIVvy from beautiful downtown Nanuktuk, California. My name is Brandon Schatz, and I am joining the creator of the list, Mr. Craigerton "ST(u)D" Reade for another round of hot! Comics! Action!

*CLAP*

Ug, I feel dirty now.

In any case – welcome. I have to say that the response to last month’s move to this "undead" (as opposed to Live!) format worked out quite well… so I am happy to continue with it.

This month had some ups and downs – I can honestly say that we have seen better months than January 2010. However, things have been going so well for so long – something like this was bound to happen.

Anyway – on to last month’s books!

January Issues

Jonah Hex #51, $3.99, DC Comics. Due Out 01/06/10 ON TIME
Written by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti, Art by Dick Giordano, Colors by Rob Schwager

Our story begins at a funeral for a Brett Singleton, designer of the town of Singleton. It seems he was killed by a bunch of claim jumpers. During the sermon, the preacher reveals that he has summoned Jonah Hex to avenge Singleton’s murder. The first thing Hex does is accost the newly widowed Mrs. Singleton – pointing out how much younger she is than her late husband, and wonders if she was in league with his killers. She naturally reacts violently, denying her involvement. So Hex is off to a good start.

We see the murderers digging, and learn that they believed Singleton possessed a divining rod that found precious metals, and killed him for it. At this point, they have had no luck with the stick.

Hex argues with the preacher, who tries to defend the widow, and keep her uninvolved, but Hex will have none of it. The Preacher reluctantly agrees to fetch her, but finds she is being kidnapped by the claim jumpers. The Preacher returns, and Hex forces a confession out of him. He orchestrated the killing, and wanted Hex to deal with the claim jumpers so he could be with the widow in peace, give her a shoulder to cry on, and hope that she falls for him when he is lending a sympathetic ear, and after hiring Hex to get vengeance for her husband. The widow, after a bit of a beating, laughingly reveals that the stick was a joke, and that her husband planted the precious metals he "found," in the hopes of building the town’s population through a gold rush. The swindling (but innocent of her husbands murder) widow kills the preacher with the divining rod. Hex decides about everyone is guilty, and kills the claim jumpers for the bounty, and lets the widow know she is only alive because there is no bounty on her, and lets her go.

I am back to being bored by this book.

See, here’s the thing. In every issue of Jonah Hex, we know pretty much exactly what’s going to happen. Jonah is going to start going up against someone. For a moment or two, they might have him on the back foot, but by the end, he’ll shoot them in the face. Because that’s what he does. And that’s all he does. The character as I see him, suffers from being the old timey Punisher. And I don’t mean that in the way that he’s a pale comparison, I mean that in the way that he’s exactly like the Punisher. Both character function best when they are the single note – the force of nature that feels very little, if nothing at all. And you can only tell so many stories using that "style" until things. Get. Boring.

Plus, there was no Rape in this book. I mean, sure, there was potential for future Rape, but that’s not good enough. You see what this book has done? It has made me sad that there was too little rape in a comic. Gah.

Here is where I am going to have to disagree with you, and then agree with you again.

The "one-note" thing doesn’t bother me in the slightest. The formula you are describing can be found in some variation in almost every super-hero comic on the market today. There isn’t a character out there that we couldn’t make a good guess about how he is going to react in certain situations.

However – this particular issue was pretty weak. It was confusing, and lacked any real punch. I appreciate the single-issue story goal, but if you can’t tell a good single-issue story, you shouldn’t do it (and frankly, if you are a comic writer and can’t manage that, you should be ashamed of yourself).

Nothing against Palmiotti and Gray, but I would love to see Stan Sakai write this book for a year. This book needs a little Usagi Yojimbo influence I think. I still enjoy Jonah Hex, but there is so much potential for more here.

I retract a bit about what I said – specifically regarding the "one-note" thing. While I still believe that Hex is that type of character, I’m not bored of the character, but rather Gray and Palmiotti’s bag of tricks with that character. Fifty issues in, and over forty stories later, I think we’ve seen them all twice over – and that’s what I’m tired of.

On that note, I honestly can’t disagree. The last 9 months or so has been a nice break from the norm. Hopefully we aren’t in for another long run of the status quo.

Still – this has me thinking of a Stan Sakai penned Jonah Hex with art by Darwyn Cooke. Damn that’d be awesome.

Invincible Iron Man #22, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/13/10 ON TIME
Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Salvador Larroca, Colors by Frank D’Armata

The restoration of Tony Stark apparantly failed. While those assembled to save him try and figure out what went wrong, Tony’s nightmare continues. Captain America brings in Doctor Strange to try and help figure out what went wrong with Tony’s procedure, and enters Tony’s dream to bring him out.

You know, as much as I enjoy this book, it usually suffers from the Act Two Blues. Meaning whenever it hits its second act, it starts to be more concerned about moving the chess pieces around than being entertaining. Not that I still wasn’t entertained (this book is still awesome), its just its not up to par with what it usually is.

It’s like it’s good – but it’s meh. This book is fast becoming a pale shadow of itself. Not that it isn’t good, but it is way too padded, and to be honest, I don’t care about what is happening. It seemed like this entire issue was little more than padding wrapped around a surprise guest appearance. Which is exactly what we got last month.

Fraction really needs to tighten it up a bit. Issue after issue after issue of nothing happening really doesn’t make for a great comic. At least during the last way-too-long arc there was some kind of antagonist to make things a tiny bit interesting. Here, we don’t even really have that.

I’ve really enjoyed this arc. Oddly enough, I think the best part has to be when Tony is explaining the plan – managing to apologize for being such a dick while simultaneously being a dick. Unfortunately, like many things, I think that this was a good two issue story that needed to be five to fit with the way Marvel’s publishing schedule shook out. Not ideal, but whatever. I still enjoy this immensely.

Spider-Man & The Secret Wars #2, $2.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 01/13/10 ON TIME
Written by Paul Tobin, Pencils by Patrick Scherberger, Inks by Terry Pallot, Colors by Brad Anderson

We are taken to Denver, where a depowered Thing and Spider-Man are checking to see if Reed’s holo-projectors are functioning correctly. As you may remember, Denver was transported to Battleworld during Secret Wars. Ben and Spider-Man get invited (ordered) to dinner by a civilian named Janet, where they learn about the Spindles – an alien race that is about to attack the city. They also discover Lockheed, and learn that Doom is in Denver as well. After watching Doom for a time, Doom tells them that he has discovered a machine that could grant incredible powers to ordinary people. The Spindles attack, and Doom joins forces with Spider-Man, Ben Grimm, and the people of Denver. In the aftermath of the attack, Doom takes Marsha Rosenberg and Mary MacPherran with him to the Beyonder’s machine (these two became Volcana and Titania respectively).

Man, I don’t know what exactly was going on with this whole Secret Wars thing back in the day, but if it’s anything like this (which I hear that it is and then some), it must’ve been straight up crazy. There’s a lot of ground covered here (Marvel and their writers then to make a concentrated effort to make a lot of their more all-ages fare done-in-one affairs that you can pick up any issue of) and its all done in a very concise manner. Oddly enough, though, as crazy as this is, I find myself being dissuaded from reading the main series – mostly because it seems like more of a bad kind of crazy than a good kind of crazy.

See now, this issue is just plain weird. Pretty much none of this happens in the actual Secret Wars event. You never really know where Volcana and Titania come from (if I recall correctly, it was kind of an assumption that they were from Denver), they just appear in Doom’s machine. Lockheed’s around in the first few issues, Doom created the two in issue 3 (I believe), and then the mere mention of Denver doesn’t really happen until Spider-Woman appears in issue 7.

In a way, this issue was kind of a disappointment. You have a suburb of a major city transported across the galaxy, and in Secret Wars proper, we see almost nothing of it. Here we finally get that chance – and everything seems normal? I found it odd that no one was panicked, and no one had issues transitioning from every day Joe-six-pack life to fighting against an alien invasion light years from home. This was an incredible missed opportunity. Yeah – the way Secret Wars panned out, there is a ton of room for a lot more story. You would think that Marvel would do a better job coming up with ideas.

You know, it occurs to me that we have quite a nice thing going in reviewing this book. I have absolutely no idea what happened in Secret Wars, and you do. So we’re coming at it from both angles. And from the angle of someone who hasn’t read the book, I’m definitely not lost. just weirded out by the way things seem to arbitrarily happen. I mean, Denver? Why, I ask you. Shenangians!

Well, that’s a familiar feeling. They never really did explain the whole “Denver” thing in Secret Wars in the first place. That another thing they could have addressed here, but ignored. Not only did they not explain why the Beyonder chose some random Denver Suburb, but they made the whole thing worse by making everyone who lived there generally calm and accepting of it. I didn’t think it could get any worse…

You are correct though… two different perspectives makes this series an interesting one to discuss. I suppose I shouldn’t taint you by forcing you to read Secret Wars until we are done with this…

How about this. For the May edition of the list, I’ll offer up a $40 bonus, much like we did with my viewing of the Star Wars movies. Sound good?

It might well be interesting to look at Secret Wars once again in retrospect, once this series finishes up. Something to look forward to!

Green Lantern Corps #44, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 01/20/10 ON TIME
Written by Peter J. Tomasi, Pencils by Patrick Gleason, Inks by Rebecca Buckman, Tom Nguyen, and Patrick Gleason, Colors by Randy Mayor

Mogo arrives at Oa and the Black Lanterns continue their fight for the Central Power Battery. Kyle wants to get the Red Ring off Guy, despite how effective he is with it – but Guy fights back, believing that Kyle really is dead, and its a trick. Salaak contacts Mogo, and learns he has received a directive to Purge Oa of all combatants to protect the battery – Green Lanterns included. Mogo absorbs the Black Lanterns while protecting the rest. Guy Gardner appears again – and prepares to attack all of the assembled Lanterns himself.

Boy howdy is this book full of all sorts of action. As someone who has to read all the Blackest Night crossover stuff, I really have to say that the book that has the most interesting stuff happening inside of it has to be this one. While the main series (and the Green Lantern book) tends to dribble out action in dribs and drabs (as opposed to handing out long, drawn out sequences where loved ones are turned into salt or where characters have to have long chats about how much they hate each other before banding together for the good of the galaxy) this book is delivering in spades. I know that he can move more product, but really, the next time they have a big event like this, the powers that be at DC should really think about having Tomasi at the helm – because I might actually enjoy his take on something big like this.

Oh, and specifically? This was a book where a giant planet "saved the day" by increasing its gravitational pull to suck all of the Black Lanterns down to its molten core where they will continually die again and again and again.

I think that was one of the most striking moments of the book. We know Mogo’s big – we know it’s powerful, but the dumbfounded look on all the Lanterns’ faces when it showed up at Oa was priceless. How does one fight alongside a planet – especially when you have no idea what the planet is going to do?

I can’t agree with you more about the rest of what you said. I honestly don’t think you even need to read the main Blackest Night event to enjoy the story. This title carries it well enough on its own.

Power Girl #8, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 01/20/10 ON TIME
Written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, Pencils by Amanda Conner, Colors by Paul Mounts

Vartox and Power Girl fight off the Ix Negaspikes, and eventually find a way to subdue them. Power Girl agrees to share a meal with the aggressive Vartox. A little alcohol later, and Power Girl is at least open to discussing his problem, but quickly learns that Valerons don’t even have sex to reproduce, and she can help them by simply touching a machine.

In the end… Dr. Sivana???

Will Power Girl touch Vartox’s machine? Yeah, that still sounds dirty, but I assure you, there’s very little hanky panky in this comic. But would you believe that by the issue’s end, the potency of Power Girl and Vartox’s mating impregnates an entire planet – women and men. Because that’s how this comic rolls.

Yeah, this issue was straight-up weird. And anyone who takes issue with Power Girl’s over-sexed image should take a look at this issue and Vartox’s "evening wear." It is safe to say that this title is an equal opportunity offender.

There is no denying this title is total fluff – but it’s fun fluff. Everyone needs a book like this in their pull-box.

Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #7, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/20/10 ON TIME
Written by Victor Gishler, Art by Bong Cazo, Jose Pimentel, Matt Milla, Kyle Baker, Rob Liefeld, and Das Pastoras

Deadpool and Zombie Deadpool’s head step through the portal, and first appear in a universe where "Major Wilson, Codename: Deadpool" is an Agent of SHIELD working for the United States of North America. Deadpool realizes he is in the wrong universe, so he turns to re-enter the portal, only to be captured by Major Wilson. Deadpool eventually escapes with the Zombie (after a little one-on-one fight). The next universe they encounter is one where a female Deadpool is a part of a rebellion against a fascist American government, represented by Captain America. After beating Cap, Deadpool discovers that it is weird to make out with an alternate female version of yourself. They then travel to an Old West reality where Deadpool is mistaken for the Deadpool Kid, and has a run-in with "Sheriff Fury" and a bounty hunter really similar to Wolverine. The real Deadpool Kid shows up, and Deadpool diffuses shooting his double in the head, a solution that satisfies Fury and Logan. One last trip through the portal, and Deadpool and Head return to Deadpool’s home reality, and are greeted by Brother VooDoo.

In this issue, nothing happened. No, seriously nothing happened. You literally cut out the part in both this issue and the last where Deadpool steps through the portal, and have Brother Voodoo show up, and the story would be no different. I say boo-urns to that, chums. Boo-urns to that indeed.

Seriously – a buck extra to see a few unimaginative alternate versions of Deadpool? This was absolutely horrible, and a waste of money to boot. It’s almost like Gishler is intentionally trying to make you hate this book. I think we need to talk a little more about this book a little farther down.

Wolverine: Weapon X #9, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/20/10 ON TIME
Written by Jason Aaron, Pencils by Yanick Paquette, Inks by Michael Lacombe, Color by Nathan Fairbairn

Melita Garner, sensing Logan’s call for help, puts a call in to a number Wolverine gave her a while ago, and Psylocke and Nightcrawler arrive to help. The pair teleport into the middle of Dr. Rot’s psychic bomb, which is nudging the violent tendancies of the asylum inmates. Psylocke diffuses the bomb, and Logan goes after Dr. Rot, who proves to be more resilient than he appears. Dr. Rot jury-rigs another brain-bomb, and makes his escape. Logan escapes – but Dr. Rot decides to contact him one last time, to check on something he discovered in his brain. It turns out buried in his mind is a kill-word, and Rot takes full advantage of it before finally disappearing.

There was quite a build to this issue, but holy crap, did things happen here. As an example, when Nightcrawler and Psyocke come to help Logan, Nightcrawler utters the line, "A giant crazy bomb made of human brains. What in God’s name have you gotten yourself into this time, Logan." And that’s just to start.

As good as this issue was, it really served to highlight some of the problems with the last few. We didn’t need this many issues to get here – some people might point to a "slow build" but I really don’t think we needed more than a single issue to set up Dr. Rot to make this issue and the story itself any better. It was well-written padding, but it was padding all the same. Heck, I am not even sure we really needed to read any of the first issues of this arc- I don’t think anyone would have a problem following what happened if they had only read this issue. The entire story was in this issue alone!

More or less, I agree. I think I would’ve been happy had the previous three been just two issues, actually. An issue to stumble around and introduce Dr. Rot – another to show how we got here and amp the conflict, and then this conclusion. But seriously, this is the book that has brought me brain bombs and bullets with 37 different kinds of cancer, so I’m willing to be a bit more forgiving. And hey, the next issue is a done-in-one, so we should be safe.

Nova #33, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/20/10 ON TIME
Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, Art by Andrea DiVito, Colors by Bruno Hang

Namorita, very much alive, awakens and pounces on Nova (at her point in the timestream, they are an item). After some discussion, the group of temporal refugees (Black Bolt, Reed Richards, Darkhawk, Namorita, and Nova) notice a younger version of the Sphinx attacking with a swarm of flying insect-like aliens.

The refugees gain a temporary victory, and hide in a pyramid to regroup. Something about the symbols inside the pyramid interact with Darkhawk’s amulet, and open a door opens, and the refugees are all entwined in some sort of energy web, where they picture how reality would be different if they made but one different choice. Everyone except for Darkhawk, who is free for some reason.

Darkhawks snaps the group out of the vision, frees them, and they find an agins Sphinx, bound to a machine. He reveals that he tried to warn his younger self in order to prevent being trapped in time for 6 millinea. His younger self indeed makes another choice, decides to turn on his older self and claim his Ka Stone, and become twice as powerful. The older Sphinx brought the temporal refugees to him to help defeat the young Sphinx, and avoid allowing him to tear reality apart with so much power.

The young Sphinx decides to bring his own champions to battle Nova and company – and the issue ends with the appearance of Bloodstone (Ulysses), Talon, Man-Wolf (John Jameson), Basilisk, and Moonstone.

I have to say, I’m excited about the villains that popped up at the end of this issue. I didn’t know who about half of them were, which means I’m going to enjoy the next issue quite a bit, as I can make some fake names for them. Like Teen Wolf and Snake Face and junk. Otherwise, this issue was solid, as always.

Well, "Teen Wolf" was around near the end of Slott’s She-Hulk run, so you should at least recognize him. I do agree – a solid issue as usual, and certainly a random assortment of characters to be pulled from nowhere. I have to wonder, if Sphinx could just draw anyone he wanted from time, couldn’t he do better?

I think that stupid, obscure characters are part of some kind of guild, Craig. Or, you know, when the Sphinx went around to Doom and all of them, they probably looked at him and went, "Who?"

Not a bad theory, except the old-man Sphinx managed to get Black Bolt and Reed Richards. I guess heroes are just suckers for old people.

Captain America #602, $3.99, DC Comics. Due Out 01/20/10 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

In this issue, it’s the triumphant return of Captain America! The comic, not the character. Bucky remains as the good Captain, and is now on the trail of the 50’s Cap, who is stirring up junk elsewhere. To go after him, he wrangles his black friend to go down south where people don’t take to kindly to his type, and junk goes down! Also: politics, which was sad to see, even if it was for a few seconds.

Meanwhile, this issue features the Reason Why We Picked Up Captain America: Nomad! Of course, it sounds danged odd saying that we grabbed an issue of the celebrated Brubaker run of Cap for a back-up featuring the female Bucky that Jeph Loeb and Rob Liefeld created back in the day, but there it is. In this issue, our hero continues to track down leads on the mysterious organization that was testing out some mind control stuff on her school. With some "help" from Arana, the two track down Mad Dog in the sewers and attempt to get some answers from the dog face lookin’ sonnovagun, but then: things happen! Oh no!

Let me get this straight. The only way Bucky can infiltrate a group of conservative protesters is to pretend to be a racist?

Sigh – seriously, why do liberals love protesters, until they disagree with them? And why is it that every liberal comic writer portrays everyone right of Clinton as racist, backwater hicks?

There is a time and a place for politics in comics. And even if you are trying to convey a certain political message in a story, how about doing it, instead of just taking a disgusting and ignorant shot at the people who disagree with you? You know, it actually is possible to make a case for something by actually discussing an idea, instead of taking an ignorant and offensive shot at the people who disagree with you. Want to have racist neo-nazi villains? Great, it’s Captain America. That’s the kind of thing he is supposed to be fighting. But how about NOT equating those people with 50% of the nation’s population? Especially in Captain America – you know, the title with the character that is supposed to transcend political ideology, and represent the ideal the country was founded on, not just one political group?

You should be damned ashamed of yourself for this trash, Brubaker.

Sigh – but again, you are right. We aren’t buying this title for Captain America, we are buying it for Nomad. And that aspect wasn’t half bad. It could have been better – and I think I could have done without Arana all together, but it was a decent start.

Brubaker actually falls into that trap quite frequently, equating more conservative views with shenangianism. Sometimes he does it with a touch of subtly, but not so much this time. It’s an ugly thing to see writers go for, and I don’t really like it in my comics… though I do see where he’s coming from.

Now, before I get yelled at for that, let me note that I do not agree with what Brubaker did. But I can draw a straight line from the BS on news punditry to this bit of writing. Unfortuantely, the nature of twenty-four hour news cycles means that only the most sensationally bombastic jerkwads are getting attention – and are focusing bad attention on those who have similar beliefs.

That’s something I have to disagree with you on. The thing is – the biggest “jerkwads” aren’t the ones getting the attention, at least on the Conservative side of the fence. The problem is in presentation. The default media presentation of anyone on the “right” in America is that they are somehow racist, or hold some other unspeakably vile ideology. One look at the last two elections will tell you anything you need to know. John McCain was (and is again) the media darling – heralded as a “maverick” who would reach across the aisle and go against his own party.

Until he was the presidential candidate, and then he was the personification of Satan himself. Suddenly, “maverick” was a word you laughed at.

I am afraid I can’t see where Brubaker is coming from at all. A belief in limited government doesn’t have a thing to do with race, and the fact that Ed Brubaker actually seems to think that it does simply demonstrates his own ignorance.

I could go on this rant for pages – but in pure comic terms, I think this kind of thing is highly disrespectful to this character. Captain America is supposed to be above politics. The fact that Brubaker seems to have no trouble polluting this book with uninformed, hateful rhetoric is really sad.

Craig, I wish to argue with you on the "jerkwad" point – but I’m pretty sure it would end with me vomiting my own blood. There’s not a single person on the 24 hour networks that I don’t want to punch in the face several times over for being stupid – and that’s all I’m saying.

But yeah, I agree that Brubaker went a bit too far with his plot on this one. I think this arc might be a write off, unfortunately.

Thank God we are just buying this one for the back-up.

Joe the Barbarian #1 (of 8), $1.00, DC Comics Due Out 01/20/10 ON TIME
Written by Grant Morrison, Pencils by Sean Murphy, Colors by Dave Stewart

Okay, so Joe is this kid who has the diabetes, and is made fun of at school (except for that one girl, who seems to like him despite what others think). So anyway, one day he goes home, and Optimus Prime and… oh, let’s say Snake Eyes tell him that he needs to save Toyland, or something. Also, there’s Batman.

You know what the best part of this issue was? That it only cost me a dollar to see how utterly horrible it was. There was nothing about this story that made sense at all – outside the clichéd "loser kid that the cute girl seems to like for some reason, despite it all." I said last month that I hoped this book would be more WE3 than Seaguy – instead we got the worst possible scenario: a story that made Seaguy and WE3 seem not so different in comparison. Bad, bad, bad. Pretty though – poor Sean Murphy, who’d he **** off to get saddled with a story like this?

I actually didn’t think this book was bad so much as unexplained. No reason has been given for Joe’s trip down the rabbit hole – at least not one you could build a solid case for, yet. But if you’re looking for a reason Sean Murphy was given a shorter shift, I would say it would be because this is pretty much his first assignment for the big two that wasn’t a fill-in. Stunning work by him, though.

The good news is, I think it’s a pretty safe bet that we will be seeing Sean Murphy around again in the future.

As to why I find this story so bad – its pretty simple. You said it yourself – no reason was given for Joe’s trip down the "rabbit hole." All we got in this story were elements we have seen in other stories time and time again. Living toys – loser dudes – "the rabbit hole." Overused elements that have, at one time or another, already been done as well as they possibly could.

Even if this weren’t a comic (and my philosophy about proper serial storytelling has been beaten to death), you can’t borrow well-worn story elements this brazenly without doing something right off the bat to make the story unique. Morrison just crammed a bunch of weird stuff together, and counted on comic fans to simply drool "oooh, look how imaginative this is."

Even laying these criticisms aside, Morrison’s strength (at least, the Morrison of today) lies in his beginnings. The best modern Morrison stories tend to start strong, and then limp across the finish line.

If this story is this poor at the outset, it pretty well has no hope of being worth letting it build.

I think I can see where you’re coming from – even if I don’t quite agree with it being "bad". Unimaginative, maybe – but not "bad". And I agree with your "serialized fiction" thing. If you intend to serialize your story, there better be something compelling in each part of the story. In this case, they have failed you. (But I like it.)

Avengers: The Initiative #32, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out Due Out 01/27/10 ON TIME
Written by Christos N. Gage, Pencils by Mahmud Asrar, Inks by Rebecca Buchman, Colors by Jay David Ramos.

It’s Taskmaster vs. Thor! Wait, really? Yeah, turns out that Tasky has taken a good long look at his current situation and the road he’s taken to get there, and he’s decided that now that he’s been forced into the big leagues, he might as well step up as much as he can in order to survive and be awesome. Meanwhile, Snake-Hands and Diamond Boobs have a lover’s quarrel, and one of them is totally going to die by the end of this. Just sayin’.

A decent follow-up to last month’s Taskmaster issue. I get the strange feeling that Taskmaster is going to be dead at the end of this, and not Constrictor or Diamondback. I think Gage has longer plans in mind here – it wasn’t too long ago that we got a similar Constrictor story to the Taskmaster one we have here – but there he was actually discovering that being a hero wasn’t so bad. I get the sense that Diamondback is going to be exposed before long (or put in danger), and Constrictor is going to have to decisively declare for the good guys before long. Which will make the Constrictor/Taskmaster angle all the better, because they have pretty obviously become friends.

That’s always the best thing about this book – long-term character development. Gage is awesome.

I agree. As I said before, I was almost ready to write this book off after the Secret Invasion stuff went down, as the initial Dark Reign arc was… well, it was what it was: a wrap-up to Dan Slott’s leftover strings, and a way to a fresh start for Gage. But man, has Gage stepped up and made this book relevant. Good stuff.

Late and Unreleased Titles

Ghost Riders: Heavens on Fire #6 (of 6), $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 12/09/09 DELAYED – 02/03/10

The List So Far

Jonah Hex #52, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 02/03/10
Invincible Iron Man #23, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 02/03/10
Spider-Man & The Secret Wars #3, $2.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 02/10/10
Green Lantern Corps #45, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 02/17/10
Power Girl #9, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 02/17/10
Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #8, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 02/17/10
Wolverine: Weapon X #10, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 02/03/10
Nova #34, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 02/03/10
Captain America #603, $3.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 02/17/10
Joe the Barbarian #2 (of 8), $2.99, DC Comics Due Out 02/17/10
Avengers: The Initiative #33, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 02/24/10

As it stands right now, things are strong on the money side. Ghost Riders is essentially over, just delayed another week – and that issue was already paid for out of last month’s budget. As it stands, we have more than enough money to pick up the required new book, without dropping any.

This doesn’t mean I don’t think we should drop any – in fact, there are two I feel deserve the boot.

The first is Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth. It pains me as a Deadpool fanboy to say this, but the book just isn’t doing it. Issue #7 was just insult to injury. An extra-sized issue for a dollar more, for no reason at all? And for a bad issue to boot? This is one I am happy to let go, and I think it is time we moved on from it.

I was done with this, I think, by issue three or four, so you’re not going to get any arguments out of me here.

Consider it done.

DROPPED

Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #8, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 02/17/10

The second is Joe the Barbarian.I am not even remotely interested in seeing where this one goes…

That’s because you are swine, Craig. I really liked the way this began – but if I’m being honest, it’s purely due to the art. Morrison’s writing didn’t really offer anything new. Yet. But I’m not married to keeping this book if your bile is overwhelming.

Despite the fact that comics are a visual medium, I strongly believe that great art can’t carry a horrible story. A mediocre story? Sure? A boring one? Yeah, kinda. But a flat-out bad one, no way in the world. This issue might have been so poorly written that the whole of human artistic achievement was lessened as a result. Yeah, it’s an exaggeration, but that’s how bad this was. Of course, I really shouldn’t be surprised…

Feh. In any case, I believe we can consider this book dropped.

DROPPED

Joe the Barbarian #2 (of 8), $2.99, DC Comics Due Out 02/17/10

New Titles

Well, as it stands now, we have room for a few new books this month – more than we have had in quite some time.

To start with, I would like to suggest a little something you have your girly pants in a bunch over:

Demo #1 (of 6), $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 02/03/10

The last time I catered to your strange loves, we ended up with something pretty decent – so I figure it would be worth trying it again.

This list could’ve done with a bit more hot Wood. Yayyy!

You are a frightening man sometimes B… and sometimes I can’t blame the Maple Syrup in your blood, which makes it all the more frightening…

Anywa… dropping Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth, I thought that maybe it would be a good time to try another Deadpool book. They are having that wacky Deadpool Variant month in February, so it seems like a good time. How about:

Deadpool Team-Up #896, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 02/03/10

Sounds good to me. An upcoming solicit for this book has them showing a team-up with Frankencastle, so this should be awesome!

Outstanding! Anything else come to mind?

Well, our list tends to lean quite heavily toward the Marvel side of things, so let’s indie this up a bit with some Choker from Image. Ben "This Can’t Be My Real Name" McCool and Ben Templesmith making something that looks like its got some jagged edges, and could poke an eye out.

Well, our track record with Image is poor – there something about that publisher and deadlines not meshing well. But I think it’s worth a shot.

Choker #1, $3.99, Image Comics. Due out 02/10/10

February List

Ghost Riders: Heavens on Fire #6 (of 6), $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 01/27/10 DELAYED – 02/03/10

Jonah Hex #52, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 02/03/10
Invincible Iron Man #23, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 02/03/10
Deadpool Team-Up #896, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 02/03/10
Demo #1 (of 6), $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 02/03/10
Wolverine: Weapon X #10, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 02/03/10
Nova #34, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 02/03/10
Choker #1, $3.99, Image Comics. Due out 02/10/10
Spider-Man & The Secret Wars #3, $2.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 02/10/10
Green Lantern Corps #45, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 02/17/10
Power Girl #9, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 02/17/10
Captain America #603, $3.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 02/17/10
Avengers: The Initiative #33, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 02/24/10

The Math
$1.91 (Bank from January) + $40 (January Budget) = $41.91
$41.91 – $38.88 (February issues) – $3.01 (tax) = $.09 Banked for March

Wow – that’s about the closest we have come to our budget cap in some time. Looks like we will be virtually guaranteed a drop next month. Which can only make things interesting.

Next month: Chlamydia!

No B, that’s this month. Next month’s little people wearing green.

Double chlamydia it is then. Hell, triple if I’m feeling sexy.

Yeah… I think I am just going to leave it at that. See you all again in 28.

THE ARCHIVES
2007 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12
2008 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12
2009 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 4.1 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12
2010 – 1

]]> http://www.stillontheshelf.com/2010/01/31/the-40-pull-list-february-2010/feed/ 0 http://www.stillontheshelf.com/2010/01/04/petas-comic/ http://www.stillontheshelf.com/2010/01/04/petas-comic/#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:15:44 +0000 Craig Reade http://www.stillontheshelf.com/?p=972 I sent away for this about 6 years ago… right at the beginning of my “comic journalist” career. It was intended to be given to children of Mothers who were wearing fur, but the letter does caution that you shouldn’t give the “comic” to children under 13.

Your Mom Kills Animals - the PETA comic from 2003

Reading this again – it makes me all the more disgusted by that group.

If you want to save animals, actually work to help them, like the Humane Society.  For all PETA’s talk, they do nothing but get themselves attention, and all of their antics don’t save a single animal.

]]> http://www.stillontheshelf.com/2010/01/04/petas-comic/feed/ 0 http://www.stillontheshelf.com/2010/01/04/the-40-pull-list-january-2010/ http://www.stillontheshelf.com/2010/01/04/the-40-pull-list-january-2010/#comments Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:36:43 +0000 Craig Reade http://www.stillontheshelf.com/?p=978

January, 2010

Welcome once again to another installment of the $40 Pull List Live!

Yes, yes, hello to all our rabid fans! Shout-out to our home fries down in The OC and junk. My name is Brandon Schatz, and with me in the Spam Corporate Annex in the beautiful industrial district of Nanuktuk California is the man behind this madness, the one, the (thankfully) only, Craigerton J. Reade!

Are you trying to get me stoned when I go back home? Oiy!

Anyway, welcome once again to this humble column. This is our the third anniversary of this all-important list, and the first anniversary of Brandon’s triumphant arrival to the column. There are but five titles remaining from the list just a year ago (Jonah Hex, Invincible Iron Man, Green Lantern Corps, Nova, and Avengers), with Jonah Hex being the sole title that has been with us from the beginning. Quite a run that title has had.

Which means we can look forward to it getting cancelled by the end of the year, right? I mean, there’s a movie out in everything!

Also, peace to my chili dogs too. Who are also from The OC.

Why don’t you take your”the” and shove it up your…

Moving on!

JANUARY ISSUES

Jonah Hex #50, $3.99, DC Comics. Due Out 12/02/09 ON TIME
Written by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti, Art by Darwyn Cooke, Colors by Rob Schwager

Tallulah Black and Jonah Hex begin taking jobs together, and after "celebrating" a successful payday overnight in a bar, Tallulah vanishes in the morning and rides off towards the west. Horace Green approaches Hex on behalf of oil tycoon Arlan Miston with a book of 50 bounties. After some protest, Hex starts working his way down the list.
Meanwhile, Tallulah Black arrives in a town looking for a dress shop, claiming she has left behind her work. She meets with a sheriff who eyes her with suspicion, but eventually welcomes her to the town.

Eventually, the rest of Hex’s targets meet in secret, trying to find a way to end Jonah and save their own skin. They decided that they would be safer in a group – and they set the wheels in motion for trapping and eliminating Hex.

Forward several months, and we see Tallulah Black, remade into a happy woman with child, still being helped by the same sheriff. She buys a plot of land, and with the help of the sheriff builds herself a home on it. By the first snowfall, the house is complete.

Their preparations complete, the bounties spring their trap by sending Eddie Runford to tell Jonah that he overheard that the men were holed up in Silver Springs – the very same town Tallulah now lives, and where she is about to give birth. The "bounties" raid the town, killing the sheriff, and taking it over, as Tallulah is attacked by the whacky fundamentalist dressmaker who wants to cut the child of sin out of her. She succeeds – basically performing a violent c-section, and kidnapped the baby, leaving Tallulah to die on the floor. Hex finds and saves her, and promises to rescue his son. He finally tracks the kidnapper, who has been locked up for murdering the baby. The sheriff tries to protect his prisoner, but eventually decides that Hex should be allowed his vengeance. Hex kills his daughter’s murderer, then goes to complete the list of 50 bounties, before returning his child’s body in a coffin to her mother – departing, as he promised, ending his relationship with Tallulah for her actions.

This issue of Jonah Hex totally reminds me of the episode of Glee, where Shu finds out that his wife was entirely faking her pregnancy – except instead of singing, there’s frontier justice. Come to think of it, Jonah Hex would be much more awesome if the characters occasionally broke out into song. In fact, I want a scene where Jonah wistfully looks off into the distance, as he recites the final stanza of 99 Luft Balloons.

Officially, from here on out, you are not allowed to be reminded of Glee by this title.

This issue was a piece of perfection. It totally broke the usual Hex formula we usually come to expect (and which it would be so easy to slip back into after the Six-Gun War), had some real character development, and was chock full of real story. And the art was fantastic – I want Cooke on this title permanently.

In no way would a musical number make this issue much more awesome.

Or Shipoopi. I want to see Jonah Hex going balls-out Buddy Hackett on alla’ everyone, clicking his heels, singing about love. It would’ve been perfect for this issue.

“Now a woman who’ll kiss on a very 1st date, Is usually a hussy….”

I don’t really think Hex is going to be so tame as to all any deserving woman a mere hussy.

You, sir, do not properly respect the power of Shipoopi.

I certainly do not.

Nova #32, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 12/03/09 ON TIME
Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, Art by Andrea DiVito, Colors by Bruno Hang

Nova and Darkhawk, very much alive, fall in the desert before a statue of a sphinx (with a skeleton head). They quickly learn that their lives have been spared by an unlikely hero – The Sphinx, who has saved Richard to serve a specific purpose.

Briefly, for those of you who aren’t familiar with him, The Sphinx was Ramses’ chief wizard – exiled by the Pharaoh after he was defeated by Moses in their "wizards duel." He eventually found the Ka Stone, which granted him nearly god-like powers. After several millennia, he grew bored of his existence and searched for a way to get rid of the Ka Stone, and finally encountered Richard Rider, who he believed held the knowledge that would free him (thanks to his exposure to Worldmind). After a battle with Galactus, a few run-ins with the Fantastic Four (Thing in particular) and the New Warriors, and some time-travel shenanigans, the Sphinx was finally killed by the Puppet Master. At least – so we thought.

The Sphinx alludes to a role he is expected to play in some forthcoming battle – warns that some djinns will come, and on cue they attack under the cover of a sandstorm. The Sphinx is disappointed at their prowess in battle, abandoning them to the sand, but Nova eventually disperses the djinn. The duo finally encounter Reed Richards at a dig near the battle-site and they figure out that The Sphinx has also drawn Reed back in time – this being the Reed Richards from just a month after Nova and the Fantastic Four first met and fought The Sphinx.

The djinn’s attack once more – this time separating Nova and Darkhawk, to battle Darkhawk alone. A version of Black Bolt arrives – and Darkhawk finally returns from his battle, to report that they aren’t on Earth at all, but rather a magical construct of some kind. Black Bolt’s "mummified" companion is unwrapped – revealing an unconscious Narmorita (the original version – not the blue one).

I recognized almost every person in this book – which actually made this fairly boring for me. Normally, when I read space books, I have the internal monologue of fake names I’ve crafted for all the characters in my head. But this pretty much concerned Reed Richards, Darkhawk, Nova, and King Tut. Blah!

That’s not to say that is was bad in any kind of way. It was actually pretty rockin’ and junk. But when you’re used to dudes with ponytails jacking giant planets in the face, it all sort of pales in comparison.

Yeah – as an issue of Nova goes, I have to admit that this one was pretty tame – at least when it came to the cosmic stuff. There is an element of it there, which I have no doubt will be expanded upon this month. For my part – I just love the fact that Abnett and Lanning are going back to the old well of Nova villains to give them a little polish. Maybe we’ll get to see some Condor – or Psionex … something like that, a few months down the road.

It’s also nice to see Reed Richards in this as well. Nova was always closely tied to the Fantastic Four, especially in the early days. Given the right circumstances, that old alliance could make for some decent stories.

Abnett and Lanning used Condor in Guardians of the Galaxy in two of the earlier issues. And fun fact about Psionex, kids: much like old Nova comics, they’re terrible.

Well, since you are totally wrong about old Nova comics, does this make you wrong about Psionex as well?

That’s the thing – Sphinx was pretty horrible too, but here he has a shot. I am still waiting for an upgraded Diamondhead to come back with a vengeance and get a little payback for Nova #2. That would be 40 shades of awesome.

I don’t want Diamondhead to come back, mostly because this site’s content filters would totally black out the fake name I gave him in my head. A silly reason, but we are talking about me here.

My, the mind that came up with *****head is a strange one indeed.

Ghost Riders: Heavens on Fire #5 (of 6), $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 12/09/09 ON TIME
Written by Jason Aaron, Pencils by Roland Boschi, Colors by Dan Brown

We open with this dude, who is totally metal standing over the wreckage of heaven, where there’s dead angels and junk littering the streets. Quite obviously, there will soon be a reckoning. But first! It’s zombie bikers (and the All New Orb!) vs. a crap ton o’ nuns with guns and the Ghost Riders! Meanwhile, Purple Hat and Wicker Man get all smacked by the Emo Skank and Pitchfork McGee and the Antichrist opens up the gate to heaven! It was entirely like one of those after school specials, where the answer was inside you all along, only in this case there’s the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Aaaanyhoo, a bunch of people die, and the brothers Ghost Rider all make it up to heaven for the big final battle. Will they win? WILL THEY? We’ll have to tune in next time…

Ah, after two issues of tease – the Gun Nuns were very much worth waiting for. That’s classic funny right there.

Dude, you should’ve been hanging around this book at the beginning, when the machine gun nurses were after Johnny. It all blew up in this big confrontation with a cannibal, a possessed highway, and lots and lots of shooting. Seriously, I don’t know where I’m going to find something this fun once this wraps itself up. Le sigh.

Well, I’d say maybe there is hope for another mini, but knowing Marvel, that isn’t likely. The sales are pretty low… but then, it is a mini, so who knows. It is true that this title is pure fun, and it is safe to say that it is completely unlike anything else on the market right now. Sadly, originality and quality seem to be things that the average comic reader just doesn’t enjoy these days, which means next issue is likely the last. Oh well – the ride was good while it lasted.

Invincible Iron Man #21, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 12/09/09 ON TIME
Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Salvador Larroca, Colors by Frank D’Armata

We return once again to Tony’s nightmare – only this time, he manages to get it to progress a little farther. Meanwhile Madame Masque has a conversation with Ghost – who she is attempting to hire to kill Tony Stark once and for all. Pepper grapples with her feelings when the newly returned Steve Rogers arrives and spurs everyone to action. Tony undergoes the surgery to bring him back "online," and we see the process by which Pepper and Maria were used to reach this end from the very beginning – and why Captain America and Thor were needed to finish the job.

Fraction has crafted quite the story here. While Tony Stark makes his demands from beyond the grave, he sounds so arrogant – yet at the very same time, he seems to be apologizing to each of them for the mistakes he’s made in the past. All the while, the story moves at that pace, just a few seconds removed into the future, with all its super-heroic tech talk. You know that what’s being said is completely fake, but spoken with such conviction that you’re convinced that such a confluence of events will in fact bring old Tony back to the land of the living. I enjoy the crap out of this book – and hey, would you look at that? It’s not even going to be part of the impending Siege crossover. You really have to give it to Marvel for not forcing these things.

Thank goodness for that. The last thing this book needs is to be shoehorned into another crossover. So many Marvel titles (DC titles too, but that’s another discussion) are badly broken from being crammed into event after event. It’s nice to see that is shaking out, if only a little bit. This title can only benefit from being left out of this next event – it will give it at least 2 arcs to develop and grow on its own. I am looking forward to seeing that.

This arc has been far better than the last one – short, sweet – to the point, and meaningful. Let’s hope Fraction sticks to this formula for the next couple stories.

Spider-Man & The Secret Wars #1, $2.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 12/09/09 ON TIME
Written by Paul Tobin, Pencils by Patrick Scherberger, Inks by Terry Pallot, Colors by Brad Anderson

We start with a famous scene from Secret Wars – the Hulk lifting the mountain to protect the heroes trapped beneath. We flash back near the beginning of the story, when the newly arrived Spider-Man, Hulk, and Captain America try to make sense out of the Beyonder’s reasoning. They come upon Enchantress, who attacks them, but Hulk quickly puts a stop to the assault. Captain Marvel returns from her scouting mission to report the imminent arrival of the Wrecking Crew. Cap and Spidey have a argument about the Hulk, we flash through a few disastrous encounters with various villains, and we finally see the resolution of Hulk’s battle with the mountain.

You know, I haven’t read Secret Wars? Or Crisis on Infinite Earths, or pretty much anything older than when I got into comics. I have most of these things, but time… she’s a harsh mistress when you’re trying to keep up with the current product hitting the store. Needless to say, I’m coming at this pretty fresh, and I have to say… this is pretty decent. Obviously, there’s a certain challenge involved in taking a twelve issue mini and condensing it to a four issue series – but right off the bat, Paul Tobin squeezed in what has to be at least a quarter of the original mini, without feeling too rushed. Solid work.

Not to be too argumentative, but you got it exactly wrong there. There is no way in the world that any comic produced by today’s standards could condense the 12 issue Secret Wars into a mere 4 issues. In fact, what we saw in this issue didn’t really cover an entire issue’s worth of plot from the original event. Instead of recapping the entire story, it seems like this series is taking bits and pieces of the original, expanding on them somewhat, and telling it from a slightly different perspective. It’s well done – don’t get me wrong, but it barely scratches the surface of the goings on in Secret Wars.

Comics these days are mostly padding and fluff. If they stuffed as much story in today’s comics as they did when Secret Wars was made, they could raise the cost to $5 an issue, and it would be worth it.

Yeah, that would be my big ol’ lack of “old comics” knowledge bleeding through. If it happened before Sensational Spider-Man #0, I really don’t know what I’m talking about. Not that I don’t have these things, it’s just… there’s not enough time in the day, it seems.

Well – this is hardly the worst classic you haven’t seen that might call your geek-cred into question. But this is hardly new – I imagine there are a ton of comic readers out there who haven’t read this series either. One reason I am kind of surprised this title wasn’t released at the same time a shiny new Secret Wars hardcover was released.

Green Lantern Corps #43, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 12/16/09 ON TIME Written by Peter J. Tomasi, Pencils by Patrick Gleason, Inks by Rebecca Buckman, Tom Nguyen, and Patrick Gleason, Colors by Randy Mayor

Right, so Kyle totally dies, and Guy is all “No! My best friend and easy lover!” Because of this, he becomes a Red Lantern. Meanwhile, all these black rings are coming for Kyle, which his girlfriend doesn’t like. But instead of crawling into a fridge, she fights for her man, and ends up bringing him back with the power of love alone, just like the end of Rent, when Roger cured Mimi’s rampant AIDS through the power of his rock voice.

Yes, it’s going to be that kind of Pull List.

And Kyle Rayner yet lives. Man – who needs the Blackest Night event itself when you have this title? I was so amped by the idea of Blackest Night for so long – the disappointment over how horrible that event has been so far would have been neigh unbearable had this title not delivered the awesome. This book also proves that you really don’t need to buy every crossover issue to enjoy an event. This book alone will give you all of the Blackest Night enjoyment you could possibly need.

Also? A Red/Green Lantern Guy Gardner is friggin’ awesome.

This change of fortune for Kyle has me renewing my stance on Guy Gardner’s fate during this mini: dude is entirely going to die. I don’t want him to, but if he goes out like any of the other Lanterns have on this book, he’ll be going out big.

I am actually feeling a bit of the opposite. Not only do I think there will be no deaths at all in this event that will stick, I actually think it is going to undo a few we have seen. We’ve gone from one extreme to another – for a time, both Marvel and DC were making an honest effort to maintain “dead means dead.” Now it seems like they are in a race to see which can make death the most meaningless of states in comics. With Blackest Night, I get the feeling they are going to take things to a new low.

As cool as this issue was, and as much of a relief it is that Kyle isn’t dead – a part of me is kind of ticked he is back already. He died – and he went out like a champ. Over the last 30 days, I made peace with that. Only… it was a lie. And it wasn’t even one of those cliffhanger bait-and switches where you see an explosion and not the body – he was dead and gone, and his ring was even moving on. Poor taste really- you kill a character the right way, only to say “Psyche!!” a month later.

The only way you could make this death worse is to have Elektra kill him off panel in the next issue.

Craig, has the Princess Bride taught you nothing? That dude was only mostly dead, and there was true love waiting for him on the other side. In space. Or something.

Obviously the Star Sapphires have perfected Miracle Max’s miracle pill…

Good thing the dude wasn’t looking to blayve.

Nomad: The Girl Without A World #4, $3.99, DC Comics. Due Out 12/16/09 ON TIME
Written by Sean McKeever, Pencils by David Baldeon, Colors by Chris Sotomayor

Nomad breaks free and attacks an unsuspecting Mad Dog and Professor Power, who are scrambling with damage control after the students unexpectedly riot. Some of Nomad’s school friends come together with a plan to help diffuse the riot, and just before the Police move in to contain the violence, Nomad and the cavalry (in the form of the Young Avengers) arrive to lend a hand.

Professor Power and Mad Dog turn on the Secret Empire, in anger over their insistence that the two return to "answer for their failure," and the Young Avengers manage to diffuse the riot with the help of Desmond Daniels. In the end, all is not well – as John Barnes is gunned down by Matt Surman in the aftermath of the riot – convinced that violence then was the way to have their voices heard. In the end, Rikki is consoled by Bucky (as Captain America) at the grave of John as Black Widow looks on from the distance.

To be continued in Captain America #602, huh?

And thank goodness for that. If someone told me a few scant months ago that I would be wishing to see more of the female Bucky created by Jeph Loeb and Rob Liefeld, I would’ve probably made more references to musicals at them. But it seems like Sean McKeever, when left to his own devices, can tell pretty awesome stories with almost any character. As I’ve said before, looking at this book, and a book like Teen Titans really shows you just how different Marvel and DC handle their talent.

True enough. Marvel’s editorial only makes an effort to ruin great titles when they are selling well. DC doesn’t look at sales figures when they decide what to meddle with…

I’ve got to hand it to you – Nomad was awesome, and it has me wanting to read Captain America again. So there is that…

Power Girl #7, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 12/16/09 ON TIME
Written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, Pencils by David Baldeon, Colors by Chris Sotomayor

Vartox, the Hyperman of Valeron, engages an army of Kashkavon’s (Yeti Pirates?), and believes himself to be victorious, until he learns that the attack is a mere distraction. The Kashkavon detonate a "Contraceptive Bomb" in the heart of Crystal City, sterilizing the populace, and ensuring the death of their civilization. To avert the disaster, the Cosmosis Crystalis reveals a list of suitable women to Vartox (who escaped the Contraceptive Bomb), and he selects Power Girl as the woman who will bear the beginnings of a new Valerian race.

On Earth, Power Girl and Doctor Mid-Nite are in pursuit of the Blue Snowman, whom they easily subdue. At that moment, Vartox arrives to lay claim to Kara. He shoots at her with the Seduction Musk Rifle, which hits Doctor Mid-Nite, which knocks him out and may have stricken him with blindness (ha!). The Blue Snowman comes to, having breathed in a dose of the Musk, reveals herself as a woman, and offers herself to Vartox.

Vartox is impressed with Power Girl’s ability to resist the musk, and arranges for a demonstration to prove his manly worth to her. He produces an Ix Negaspike, an enormous fearsome creature capable of devouring entire planets, and plans to subdue the creature on his own. The Blue Snowman leaps into action to defend her new love, and she is subsequently eaten in seconds. Vartox’s plan goes awry when the transport leash is destroyed, and the creature is set free, unrestrained. Power Girl attacks the creature, and in a grave miscalculation, freezes it and shatters it to pieces. But, as the Ix Negaspike is indestructible and reproduces asexually, in reality, she only manages to facilitate the creature’s reproduction.

It appears as though Gray and Palmiotti are concocting a sly crossover with Jonah Hex here – as Rape seems to be hanging around the edges of this comic. Sure, its a more modern take on Rape, but you would expect him to change a bit between Hex and here.

Well, Rape did have the month off over at Jonah Hex, though there was a disgusting amount of Consensual Sex happening over there. It was almost invoking Rape’s return.

Speaking of crossovers, I have to say that this book had a real similar feel to Ghost Riders this month. Sure, there wasn’t the Hellfire and Brimstone, but there was a good deal of total ridiculousness. A Contraceptive Bomb? Yeti Pirates? An alien superstud on the prowl for a worthy mate to help him repopulate a species? That head ship? The Seduction Musk Rifle? This was camp through and through, and plain awesome to boot. I know when I first saw this title I was hoping for a more serious take on Power Girl – but I am more than happy with this kind of silliness.

Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #6, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 12/16/09 ON TIME
Written by Victor Gishler, Pencils by Bong Dazo, Colors by Matt Milla, Inks by Jos Pimentel

Deadpool and company crash in a marsh, in search of a dimentional portal – through which he intends to send the head of Zombie Deadpool to his home reality. Their quest isn’t an easy one – on their way, they are attacked by Man-Thing and Lord Falcon. Deadpool and company escape unscathed – and Deadpool takes his Zombie Head and enters the portal alone.

I think I enjoyed this issue. I say I think, because I really don’t remember much about this story. I remember laughing a couple of times, and watching everyone move through the motions, but what can I say. This Deadpool title just isn’t grabbing me like I’d like it to.

I really can’t disagree with you. This book is a ton of fluff – but stacking it up to Power Girl shows it isn’t even pulling out the fluff particularly well. I dunno – I think I am game to try out the first issue of the next arc, but if we don’t see improvement, I may well be willing to send this book packing.

Agreed.

Wolverine: Weapon X #8, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 12/23/0 ON TIME
Written by Jason Aaron, Pencils by Yanick Paquette, Inks by Michael Lacombe, Color by Nathan Fairbairn

Enter the "hot sexy nurse," strolling down the hall, unwittingly stumbling upon a gruesome scene of blood and death. Because that’s always the way it goes. Wolverine – the perpetrator, cuts the lights, and comes upon the frightened nurse, who begs for her life. Logan pauses… and the nurse inexplicably berates him for sparing her life.

Ah… an illusion.

Logan breaks free, but is put down by a dose of gas, courtesy of Dr. Rot.

Cut to a flashback, and we finally see how Logan got himself imprisoned in Rot’s sanatorium. After a brief recap of those events, Logan finds himself strapped to the table, as Dr. Rot tries to get at his brain. Somehow, Logan manages to call for help – and the sanatorium is about to receive a few different visitors.

Why, it’s Craig’s favourite narration trick! Flashback storytelling! Yayyyy!

Right, so we’re nearing the end of this particular story, and I have to say… I’ve been enjoying it, but it doesn’t have the same spark as the first arc did (which was not on the list). I mean… in that one, Wolverine was being hunted down by people with claws made of out lifesavers, who had guns that shot bullets filled with over thirty kinds of cancer – so anything following that is going to be faced with some stiff comparison.

But we are talking Wolverine here, so the fact that it’s not boring me to tears is a pretty good sign. Did you know that guy is the best he is at what he does? Someone should spread that around.

Honestly, the flashback didn’t bother me in this issue – mostly because it was done correctly. We weren’t bouncing around all over the place in some sad attempt at artsy non-linear storytelling. The time was right to reveal that information, especially since other characters were finally coming into the picture. The flashback served a purpose – and for that reason it was totally acceptable.

I have to admit that I am not in love with this arc. It’s well written – but I do like a different sort of Wolverine story – even a different type of cerebral Wolverine story. But it works – and it hasn’t even occurred to me to consider dropping this one.

Avengers: The Initiative #31, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 12/23/09 ON TIME
Written by Christos N. Gage, Pencils by Rafa Sandoval, Inks by Roger Bonet, Colors by Edgar Delgado.

Taskmaster’s party is interrupted by a call from Norman Osborn, who intends to visit Camp HAMMER in the morning. Taskmaster rushes into action, and tours the Camp to make sure everything is ready. Meanwhile, Osborn and The Hood talk about Taskmaster’s merits, and how it all ties into a project of Osborn’s called "The Cabal."

The Avengers Resistance gets settled into their new hideout, Taskmaster and Constrictor have a little heart-to-heart, and Osborn arrives to inspect the troops. Taskmaster finally receives the offer of a promotion he was expecting – and after first enjoying the new level of power he gained, one bad encounter with Doom makes him have second thoughts about what is to come.

I had a lot of file customers at the store complain about how ridiculous it was that Taskmaster was invited to the same table as Doom – which, to be fair, they are right about… there is something ridiculous about a dude what wears a Skeletor looking mask (and just so happens to have a photographic memory of every kind of fighting style ever) sitting at the same table as a dude that had his face blown off so hard that he essentially became evil and the ruler of his own country. Also ridiculous? There’s a freaking God of Mischief there too. It’s freaking comics people.

But anyway, this issue should sate those people’s thirst for downfall, as Tasky is shown to be quite out of his element at the “big boy” table. After all, he’s just in it to get paid and laid… not necessarily to be evil, per say.

Funny thing about those gripes is – that was the whole point of the story. How else does one move up in the ranks than by establishing himself as a good and intelligent leader? I would say it is equally ridiculous that Osborne has a place there… Doom could easily have done to Norman what he did to Tasky. They aren’t there because of their power-levels, they are there because of what they can do in the grant scheme of things. And it isn’t a shock that Norman would want someone else there he thinks he could control.

The point of the story is that he was somewhat out of place there. How that impacts the future story will be interesting to see.

That’s it for last month’s books – time to look forward to next month!

The List So Far
Jonah Hex #51, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 01/06/10
Invincible Iron Man #22, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/13/10
Spider-Man & The Secret Wars #2, $2.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 01/13/10
Green Lantern Corps #44, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 01/20/10
Power Girl #8, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 01/20/10
Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #7, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/20/10
Wolverine: Weapon X #9, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/20/10
Nova #33, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/20/10
Ghost Riders: Heavens on Fire #6 (of 6), $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 01/27/10
Avengers: The Initiative #32, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/27/10
Batman and Robin #7, $2.99, DC Comics Due Out 01/27/10

We have a few differences this month – Deadpool’s cover price jumped up a dollar, Jonah Hex’s has gone back down, Nomad has come to an end, and Batman and Robin returns from its brief hiatus this month. As it stands now, we should have just enough for one more issue, if we don’t cut anything. Is there anything you are just plain sick of? Do we give Batman and Robin another chance?

Well, there’s not a whole lot that I’d want to cut from the list. The Deadpool book hasn’t really been grabbing me, but the novelty of seeing the different reality versions of Deadpool intrigues me. Batman and Robin, I’ve been enjoying, but it did just wrap up an arc, and in February, it’s going to ship twice… which might cause problems for it. Other than that, I really don’t feel all that strongly about booting anything.
In truth, that makes me want to drop Batman and Robin. If they were planning on shipping twice in February, why bother taking the month off? And as it stands now, we have enough room for a single $2.99 book, but with so many titles weighing in at $3.99 these days, I am inclined to drop it in order to make room.

Right then. Dropped!

I can’t say I will miss it! Onward!

New Titles

That leaves us with $6.74 (before tax) to pick up a new book. I have to say that I really enjoyed Nomad, so much so that I am perfectly willing to pick up Captain America, just to get the back-up stories. Your thoughts?

I wish to impregnate Sean McKeever with my love.

Aaaannnd I’ll take that as a yes.

ADDED
Captain America #602, $3.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 01/20/10

That leaves us with a mere $2.99, or $2.77 before the dread tax and board fee. Unless you can think of something cheaper than that…
There’s Joe the Barbarian coming out from Vertigo. It’s supposed to be one of those fantasies, like Narnia – only written by Grant Morrison. First issue is a buck.

Sounds like a steal to me. We have the room – and who knows, the title may rock. The Grant Morrison thing doesn’t exactly sell it – but who knows… a diamond in the rough? Hopefully it is more WE3 than Seaguy.

ADDED
Joe the Barbarian #1 (of 8), $1.00, DC Comics Due Out 01/20/10

JANUARY LIST
Jonah Hex #51, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 01/06/10
Invincible Iron Man #22, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/13/10
Spider-Man & The Secret Wars #2, $2.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 01/13/10
Green Lantern Corps #44, $2.99, DC Comics. Due Out 01/20/10
Power Girl #8, $2.99, DC Comics. Due out 01/20/10
Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #7, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/20/10
Wolverine: Weapon X #9, $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/20/10
Nova #33, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/20/10
Captain America #602, $3.99, Marvel Comics Due Out 01/20/10
Joe the Barbarian #1 (of 8), $1.00, DC Comics Due Out 01/20/10
Ghost Riders: Heavens on Fire #6 (of 6), $3.99, Marvel Comics. Due out 01/27/10
Avengers: The Initiative #32, $2.99, Marvel Comics. Due Out 01/27/10

The Math
$2.74 (Bank from December) + $40 (January Budget) = $42.74 $42.74 – $37.89 (January issues) – $2.94 (tax) = $1.91 Banked for February

And with that, we come to the end of our little journey this month! Thanks again to all of you who have stuck with the List since the very beginning. It’s been a blast so far, and hopefully we will see you all again in January 2011.

The OC 4 life, honkies!

THE ARCHIVES
2007 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12
2008 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12
2009 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 4.1 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12