Weekly Pull Review

Weekly Comic Pull Review Returns!

I know, I know, it’s been forever since I’ve posted one of these. But hey, I can finally afford my comics again! Yay employment!

 

(Lady) Thor #2

I was genuinely skeptical about this series. I was a reader of Thor: God of Thunder for its entire 25 issue run, and I loved the hell out of it. Some of the best art of any superhero comic, a truly epic aesthetic, time travel, and Gorr the Godslayer, Voldemort’s bigger badder brother. So when they announced that Thor was becoming unworthy and being replaced, I pretty much dismissed it as another gimmick, like any superhero death or depowering. But I’m swiftly changing my mind. The God of Thunder storyline is picking up where it left off, but in a very new way. We still don’t know who Lady Thor is (though I feel that it should be obvious to readers of God of Thunder), but she brings a whole new style to the hammer. She’s less single knockout blow, more hurricane of fists, lightning, and hammerblows. Regardless, Jason Aaron and Co are keeping there momentum going at full throttle from Thor: God of Thunder, with the added bonus of being a great starting point for new readers.

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Belated weekly pull review.

Sorry the pull review is late this week. Without further delay:

Beasts of Burden One-Shot: Hunters and Gatherers

Dark Horse Comics
Evan Dorkin, Jill Thompson
For those of you who have never read Beasts of Burden before: WHY? Seriously, this series about dogs and cats defending the town of Burden Hill from supernatural threats is amazing. Great characters, wonderful art, a dog lycanthrope, it’s got it all. I think it passes the Bechdel test, but I’m not entirely sure that it is particularly useful here, since you’ve got to guess the gender of the various animals from context clues/familiarity with the series, and there is no way to tell for some of the minor characters and extras. (I still have to finish the series proper myself, but I’m working on it). I think I’m just going to start commenting on whether a comic passes the Bechdel test, the test is non-applicable, or it is a serious failure. Otherwise, just assume it failed, which is sadly pretty normal in comics.
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Undertow

So poking around in my recent comics, I found one I wanted to mention to you guys:

 
Undertow #1

Image
Steve Orlando, Artyom Trakhanov, Thomas Mauer
Undertow is spectacular. The first issue just came out last week. It’s a comic about primordial Atlantis, while humans are still savages without language or any but the most rudimentary tools. Atlantis is an autocratic, almost fascist society, and the story follows a group of rebels and refugees looking for a better life. The writing is great, the art is spectacular, and if you can, grab the spectacular Simon Roy variant cover art. (I’m a huge fan of the current run of Prophet, so his variant art is what made me pick up Undertow in the first place). It sadly fails the Bechdel Test, but that’s hardly surprising, given how many comics do fail, and it doesn’t fail egregiously. Nothing that the Hawkeye Initiative would need to look at. Also, since the characters aren’t humans, it takes a second to figure out some of their genders anyhow (though some are much, much more obvious than others). Anyway: Great comic.

Weekly Pull Review #1

So I’ve decided to do a weekly feature on my blog where I review all the comics I get in my comic book pull and hold. I’m just going to do quick and dirty reviews, though I may do more in depth on special issues I think deserve it. I’m currently getting my comics from Excalibur Comics, and have loved the place so far. (I do still miss you, Astrokitty!) So, without further ado, let’s get started:
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