Weekly Pull Review

Weekly Pull Review 1/28/15

This is an absurdly good week for my comics. I mean, hell yes.

Sex Criminals #10- Image

Sex Criminals is, without a doubt, the single funniest goddamn thing in my pull. Especially the letters column. Oh my god the letters column. Yes. In all seriousness, though- this comic has amazingly developed characters. Jon and Suzie are way more sympathetic than… well, damn near any other comic book characters out there. Almost certainly the best comic book couple. Alana and Marko from Saga have them beat, maaaaayyyybeee? Hard to say. You can definitely feel Fraction’s style in here- comics he writes tend to have some of the highest panel per page counts out there. I mean, it’s not Hawkeye, with that one goddamned 27 panel page, but it’s still pretty crazy, with 10+ panel pages everywhere. That usually just ends up looking like shit, but it works out well here. That probably mostly speaks volumes about Chip Zdarsky (and David Aja on Hawkeye), but I’d still like to see some of Fraction’s scripts. Also, did I mention that this comic is goddamned hilarious? I don’t think I’ll be able to go into a Barnes and Noble without getting the temptation to yell “Vagina Doctor” ever again.

Bitch Planet #2- Image

It’s not even remotely surprising to find two Image titles headlining my pull review. At this point I think it should be obvious that I’m a raving Image fanboy. It should also not be surprising that the two comics headlining my list are by the power couple of comics these days, Kelly Sue Deconnick and Matt Fraction. I usually don’t really throw my weight fully behind a comic until at least issue 3, but this issue has completely locked in this comic for me. The art gives off an awesome pulp vibe that works great for the prison scenes. The scenes in the confession module are fantastic looking- definitely the most eyecatching scenes in the book, though the treadmill scene is pretty close behind it. I wasn’t expecting this book to take the prisoners form a sports team angle, but it could turn out pretty good- especially since we don’t know anything about Megaton yet, other than that it’s really, really violent.

(more…)

Weekly Pull Review 1/21/15

This is kind of an odd week for comics- there’s nothing in my pull that’s been there longer than a few issues this time around. Weird. It’s been a while since that’s happened.

Drifter #3– Image

Drifter’s consistently good art has held it in my pull so far- it’s not to say that the writing is bad, but the art has been the major pull thus far. The third issue is finally starting to pull some story threads together- mostly, though, it’s bringing more life into the town, its economy, and its residents. The issues thus far feel somewhat vignette-like, though they’re obviously part of an overarching story. Though the story is starting to improve, the art is still the primary draw. The mine scenes stand out especially well, with the worm-creature’s face being by far the standout visual in the issue.

Intersect #3- Image

Huh. This one wasn’t as weird as the past two issues. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s still pretty bizarre, but Ray Fawkes didn’t really whip out anything especially new this time around. Insane person merged into their environment- check. Disorienting, weird changes of locale? Check. I mean, it’s still good, and there is at least a pretty big surprise at the end. We do finally get to see Lucky, the monstrous dog creature who has been plaguing them in the background the whole time- and he’s kind of underwhelming, frankly. Intersect is still one of the most unusual, weird comics out there right now, though, so it definitely stays in. (more…)

Weekly Pull Review 1/14/15

Jupiter’s Legacy #5- Image

Holy hell, it actually came out. Issue #4 came out in March of last year- I’d essentially given up on seeing this one. This one’s got a bit of a hefty price tag, at $4.99, but you do get 29 pages out of it, which is pretty impressive. I picked it back up surprisingly quickly, so it was at least memorable for me. Many comics I read I forget things just month to month- Mark Millar, love him or hate him, at least does pretty memorable work. Jupiter’s Legacy, while good, however, hasn’t especially felt groundbreaking. I’m somewhat doubtful that it’s possible for many superhero comics to be groundbreaking anymore, of course. The art in Jupiter’s Legacy is odd- it looks really good, but at the same time very spartan and minimalist, but not in the way you’d usually imagine it. I’m having trouble explaining what I mean here, but you’ll understand when you see it.

Copperhead #5- Image

Copperhead’s first story arc ended in a very different way than I expected. It played it as a straight mystery- no plot twists, no sudden reveals, just a steady path to the conclusion. It’s a fresh breeze in comics, where the big twist is king. The mystery here, though, isn’t the brilliant, convoluted plot that it takes a genius to solve- it’s the kind of crime you expect a small-town sheriff to be able to solve. The characters of Copperhead don’t exist to support the plot, though- the plot exists to support them. The story is about Sheriff Clara Bronson and Co solving the mystery, not about the mystery being solved by Sheriff Clara Bronson and Co. It’s a fine distinction, but an important one. It’s part of what makes a good story. Also, don’t get me wrong- I’m talking about this story like it’s a mystery, but it is definitely a Western, and a good one at that.

(more…)

Weekly Pull Review 1/7/15

Anyone have any suggestions for a DC title I should give a try? I’ve got Vertigo stuff, but I don’t have anything main-universe DC.

ODY-C #2- Image

Slightly less action packed than the first issue, Matt Fraction and Christian Ward still hit it out of the park with this one. This issue focuses more heavily on Zeus and Poseidon, and really plays up the spiteful, vicious, petty, and dangerous facet of the Greek gods, which largely gets ignored in modern takes on Greek mythology. While Zeus and Poseidon are plotting Odyssea’s downfall, the captain and her crew have arrived at the planet of the Lotophages (The Lotus Eaters), which is a colossal hedonistic park-like planet, with the world-sized, delirious, drug-addled, near-comatose body of Promethene, creator of the third gender sebex, chained to it. This book is insane in all the right ways. Also, it’s written in dactylic hexameter. Matt Fraction is shouldering his way in among the great comic book writers, and Christian Ward is tossing down the gauntlet to all challengers with his gorgeous visuals. If ODY-C keeps being this awesome, I’m going to start being as excited for issues of it as I am for issues of Saga.

Birthright #4- Image

The newest title from Robert Kirkman’s Skybound studio, it once again proves that the Walking Dead creator is absolutely right in chaining up comic book creators up in the basement and depriving them of food and water until they produce art is the way to go. (Kirkman isn’t actually on the production team for this one). Birthright is great, though. Essentially, it’s a what-if title that riffs off the classic C.S. Lewis/ Susan Cooper story, involving children being taken into magical worlds for grand adventures, but it goes a step farther, to explore what happens when the child gets back. (The story archetype goes much farther back, of course- the fairy changelings of European folklore, the fairy rings, etc.) A young boy, Mikey, is stolen into a fantasy world to become a chosen hero. One year later, his family has collapsed. His parents are divorcing, his dad is suspected of murdering Mikey, his older brother is getting in fights at school, the whole thing has become a media circus. Then an enormous behemoth of a man, covered in armor and carrying dozens of medieval weapons shows up in town. (Surprise, surprise, it’s Mikey). Issue #4 opens with Mikey, his dad, and his brother on the run from the cops, and, well… spoilers. Check this one out.

(more…)

Weekly Pull Review 12/31/14

This one’s several days late, because New Years. Plus, you know, the absurd amount of comics that come out the last Wednesday of the year. (That’s a lie).

East of West #16- Image

East of West continues to please- the art is great, the story is awesome, if a bit dense and hard to follow at times. My only real complaint is that the characters aren’t super sympathetic, but then this isn’t the type of story that you want particularly sympathetic characters in. The Endless Nation has started- and finished- its conquest of the Texan Republic with ease, but Governor Bel Solomon isn’t done yet. The creepy child Horsemen of the Apocalypse continue their hunt for Death, and… well, it’s hard to explain if you aren’t reading it. (Why aren’t you?)

Great Pacific #18- Image

Great Pacific #18 is the rather abrupt conclusion to the series. It’s not a bad one, necessarily, but it does feel rushed. For those unfamiliar with the series, it follows the rich scion of a Texas oil fortune as he embezzles the entire fortune of his company and uses it to found a nation (New Texas) on the Pacific Gyre- specifically, atop the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. (The book fictionalizes it to make it sturdy enough to walk on, which isn’t possible in real life. The actual patch largely consists of tiny plastic particles suspended throughout an area between the size of Texas and twice the size of the Unites States, making a kind of plastic soup- clumps are pretty rare.) The series follows him solidifying the Garbage Patch into an actual continent and forming a new nation atop it. (Also, finding old Soviet Nukes floating around. Don’t forget the giant octopi and genetically engineered, plastic eating anglerfish, either!) The art is good, though I don’t much like the faces. They frequently seem to slide around the faces. Overall, the series is pretty good. If you get the chance to read it, I’d go for it. The ending is kind of rushed, and leaves a lot open for a potential future followup, but I have my doubts about seeing that. As for actually buying the trades- well, read it first.